Intersecting Realities
by rightous malestrom
Summary: Voldemort is back, he can be stopped but all things come at a price. Someone called for a hero but he said no, ripped from his own reality he jumps again. Will he be more helpful this time? AU femHarry.
1. Summer is for learning

I, Rosaline Potter, The-Girl-Who-Lived, Gryffindor currently between fourth and fifth year hate the summer holidays. A week ago, I narrowly escaped a newly resurrected Voldemort who had me abducted out of the castle to steal some of my blood. A week ago, I saw Cedric Diggory die in front of me and only lived myself through some quirk of wand lore. It wasn't the first time I'd narrowly escaped death, in my first year a teacher processed by Lord Voldemort had had several goes at me. In my second year I was bit by a whooping great basilisk that was under the command of a memory of a sixteen year old Lord Voldemort. Third year I had nearly had my soul sucked out several times and been far too close for comfort with a transformed werewolf that hadn't taken its wolfsbane. Not to mention that at fifteen months old that Voldemort had cast a killing curse at me after murdering my parents. Really the guy had it in for me. Now I was at my summer home. Number four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. This place was awful. The worst part though, by far, was the people who inhabited it. My last living relatives, note relatives not family. They are horrendous people. They made me live in a cupboard for a decade after I was left with them following my parents deaths, I was made to do all the chores and if I did them well enough I was even fed. They also hated magic and I was a witch, that ends about as well as you imagine.

A knock on the door got my attention. I paused for a moment, maybe one of the Dursley's would get the door, it was a fifty/fifty situation. Sometimes they preferred to pretend I didn't exist and hid me away. Out of sight out of mind. Sometimes though they remembered that in their minds I existed to do all the jobs they didn't want to do.

"Girl, door." Roared my Uncle from downstairs. Sighing I closed the defence textbook I had been reading and made my way downstairs trying my best to not look at the photos all around that showed my relatives. They were both painful reminders that I wasn't welcome and slightly sickening because, well if you saw them you'd understand.

Opening the door I froze. Standing there was a man. For a moment I thought it was my father, he looked so similar to the photos I have of a young James Potter. I noticed a moment later he had my mother's eyes, my eyes, a deep emerald. I barely noticed the lightning bolt shaped scar proudly displayed on his forehead by rather short scruffy hair. I was so confused and shocked I missed his "Hi." And did nothing to stop him as he walked past me into the house. Snapping back to reality I turned and followed him as he walked straight into the living room where the three Dursley's were with such confidence it was as if he was home. I rushed to see what was about to happen and nearly laughed at the looks of shock and outrage that this man had invaded their home.

"Dursleys, its your lucky day. I'm here to remove the burden placed on you by the freaks. So, if you'll say your goodbyes now I'll be taking her and going." The man said in an easy confidant tone. Who was he to say he was taking me anywhere because yes, to the Durselys I was a burden and witches and wizards were certainly freaks?

The man turned and left the room saying no more. I was rooted to the spot in shock as were the Dursley's. Hearing the man climbing the stairs I rushed after him to trying find out what the bloody hell was going on. I reached the top of the stairs just in time to watch him disappear into my bedroom. Following quickly, I entered in time to see him pull out a wand and give it a gentle wave. My belongings all seemed to fly into my trunk, even the ones hidden beneath the floor.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Harry, we'll talk more later." He replied nonchalantly as he sealed my trunk and shrunk it with a few more flicks of his wand.

"Did Dumbledore send you?" I asked trying to work out what was happening. Not that I was complaining about leaving the Dursley's I'd just never met this man before and everything seemed a bit abrupt.

"I wouldn't be lying if I said Dumbledore is the reason I am here." He replied carefully as he looked around the room for anything he missed. "Anyway, don't worry. Doesn't he always tell you how safe this place is, I couldn't have got in if I wanted to harm you."

Nodding I relented. I wasn't quite sure how the protections on the house worked but that sounded familiar.

"Anyway, what's your name?" He asked.

"How do you not know who I am, everybody knows who I am. Did Dumbledore really send you?" I asked shocked.

"A little bit arrogant that. I'm new round here. I suspect I know 'what' you are but no I don't know who you are." He replied smirking slightly as if he knew something I didn't. "Right, if that's everything we'll be off."

"I think that's everything." I replied dazed and confused. I didn't have time to say anything else as Harry grabbed my arm and spun. With a crack, I felt my body compressed as if being pushed through a tube that was too small for it. Just as I felt the need to breath it was over and with another crack the world rematerialized. We appeared to be in a lounge, I could see a sofa in front of me and a small kitchenette and boxes everywhere. I couldn't really focus as I was fighting the urge to throw up. I looked round to complain to Harry or at least find out what just happened when I noticed he had his wand pointed at me. A flash of red then all I saw was black.

Waking in a strange bedroom with a stinking headache was not an experience I'd like to repeat. My memories seemed intact, Harry had stunned me by the looks of it and now I was lying on a bed in a very plain room. Luckily it seemed I was still wearing the same clothes I was in earlier so that was good. Looking around I noticed my wand was on the bedside cabinet. Strange, perhaps I misunderstood the situation, it was a poor attempt to abduct me only to give me back my wand. Grasping it I felt the familiar warmth rushing through my arm confirming it was my actual wand not a joke wand. I slowly stood trying to make as little noise as possible and began to creep towards the door gripping my wand tightly. I paused as I griped the door handle before flinging it open and levelling my wand at Harry who was sat quite peacefully in an armchair, an empty mug was on a coffee table in front of him as he wrote in a small leather bound notebook with an expensive looking quill.

"Ah, good you're up." Harry spoke without looking up.

"What is going on, where are we?" I demanded still pointing my wand at him.

"Come, sit." Harry replied gesturing to one of the sofas, still writing in the notebook.

"What is going on?" I repeated, he looked up and snorted softly seeing my wand pointed at him.

"If you were going to use that you would have. Sit." He replied closing the notepad and leaning back in his chair. I moved slowly to the sofa not taking my wand off him at any point.

"Or maybe I want answers." I insisted.

"And you'll get them. Not that the wand has anything to do with it, in fact I'm tempted to refuse to answer anything and see if you can actually use that thing." He replied looking content in his seat. Bloody hell what was happening here? I was so confused. Why stun me after taking me from the Dursley's, why take me at all? I lowered my wand but kept it in hand.

"Fine. Now talk." I spat angrily. I was not amused by his attitude at all.

"And I shall. I will ask that you don't interrupt at any point and save your questions to the end." I nodded and he smiled.

"My name is Harry James Potter." I opened my mouth to interject but the warning expression he gave me reminded me to save my questions till the end. "I am the son of James and Lily Potter, born on the 31st of July 1980. The first year of my life was likely a bright spark amongst the gloom of an ongoing war. Halloween of 81 the Dark Lord responsible for the war arrived at my home. My parents tried gallantly to hold him off but they were caught un prepared and without their wands. After they were killed The Dark Lord tried to kill me. He failed but left me with this scar. You see just before I was born a prophecy was made predicting that I could defeat the Dark Lord. This prophecy was overheard by a greasy git who ran off to his master who identified me as the child and wanted to kill me before I could grow up to become a threat.

With my parents dead and my Godfather arrested for betraying them I was sent to my last living family members by Albus Dumbledore. These relatives were unpleasant people who hated magic and thus me. The next decade of my life was miserable but educational. On my eleventh birthday I received a letter that changed everything. Knowing the Dursley's would take it off me if they saw me with it I hid it in my cupboard. I read it that night and the next morning I showed it to the Dursley's who were not happy with it at all. Eventually they conceded that even to reject my place I would have to reply. Aunt Petunia knew where to buy the school supplies from when my mother went so she dropped me off and basically told me to find a place to stay while I was there. That sparked my imagination. If I could learn magic, I could do anything, I could even find away to stay away from the Durselys so I wanted to become the best wizard I could. I studied hard ready to start school. The sorting hat offered me a chance at greatness, I saw that as a chance to get away from the Dursley's so I leapt at it. Slytherin house is not a kind place. The snake pit is full of vipers watching your every move, praying on weakness, forever ready to cut you down. They only strike when they know they will win so I soon learnt to be strong and polite. So polite and charming nobody bothered to argue with me. I was nice, all the staff liked me and were willing to help me. All except my head of house and potions teacher but I kept my head down around him. At the end of my first year I asked Dumbledore if I could stay at Hogwarts. Something about my manner or my request scared him. He said he would speak to the Dursleys for me.

The next day Dumbledore returned pale and sad. He apologised for placing me there and told me the tale of another Slytherin. A young boy called Tom Riddle. Another Slytherin half-blood who was raised by muggles in a less than pleasant environment. This boy was also charming and clever, he too had asked to stay at Hogwarts over the summer. Dumbledore turned the boy down. He started to hate muggles and became a dark lord. Seeing history potentially repeating itself he allowed me to stay at Hogwarts over the summer and began to take a personal interest in my studies. We would meet up once or twice a week throughout the first few years of my schooling to chat or to cover some points in class. When the Chamber of Secrets was opened in my second year together we were able to identify the ghost that was the last victim last time the chamber was opened. That led us to the entrance. Dumbledore lay in wait there until the next time. A first year had been possessed by an artefact that once belonged to Voldemort. That object also confirmed a lot of speculation made about Voldemort and his survival. He wouldn't tell me what the diary actually was until I learnt the mind arts which became the subject of our tutoring. Aware of the Dark Lord's survival and search for a new body Dumbledore also started to have the other teachers push me more in classes and I received more tuition from them. I was exempt from all normal homework to make time for my other classes.

Dumbledore was happy with my mental defences halfway through my third year. It was then that he told me about the prophecy and the true meaning of the diary. To say I was scared would be an understatement but I trusted the headmaster. In my fourth year an agent of Voldemort entered me into the triwizard tournament. This mean due to his oaths as headmaster I could no long receive personal tuition from him. In response he pulled me from regular classes and worked out a new timetable for me to receive one on one tuition and gave me an unlimited pass to the restricted section of the library. I tore apart my competition in the tournament, my desire to be the best would accept no less. I would prove that Harry Potter was more than the boy-who-lived, I would earn my place on the pantheon of greats. Harry Potter would be mentioned in the same sentence as Merlin and the founders.

Dumbledore was so busy dealing with the politics around the security breach that he passed on the investigation to how I was entered to ex-auror Alastor Moody who was teaching defence. In the third task I was abducted by a portkey and stunned. I woke tied to a tombstone. Pettigrew had taken my wand but never thought to check for a knife. I was able to cut free and stab Pettigrew from behind before he could complete the ritual. Reclaiming my wand, I stunned the infant form of the Dark Lord and returned him to the castle. We drugged it with veritaserum and bombarded its mind with mental probes to learn the secrets of its survival. We left immediately to act against his methods leaving Moody to guard Voldemort. By the time we returned the man we thought was Alastor Moody was long gone and with him the Dark Lord. Raiding Moody's quarters, we found the real Moody trapped in his own trunk. He revealed to us the true identity of the imposter. The next year was a nervous stand off with neither side willing to act and show their hand, both gathering strength. It was then that Dumbledore revealed his suspicions about my scar. That lead to the first real argument between the two of us. I thought his method for dealing with it was stupidly risky whereas he doubted mine could work without leaving lasting damage. Eventually things came to a head. We leaked to Voldemort that we would be listening to the prophecy trying to bait him into a trap within the bowls of the ministry. We never expected his own people would be waiting in the atrium. They never cared about the prophecy, they threw killing curses from all sides at Dumbledore, the old man never stood a chance and somehow he still took four of them with him. With Dumbledore gone I fled leaving Voldemort to claim the prophecy unopposed. That night I dealt with my scar using my method, luckily there were no lasting consequences.

McGonagall stepped up as headmistress and basically gave me free reign of the castle. I did a lot of stuff I'm not proud off but my Slytherin mindset could justify. Dumbledore would have disagreed with a lot of what I did but it gave me a chance. Lots of people died that year, on both sides. Eventually I found myself in a fight with Voldemort. He knew that Dumbledore and I had rendered him mortal so he was being far more defensive than before. A couple of Gryffindors charged in as they do to try and help. It took him mere seconds to kill them but those seconds gave me a chance. A killing curse would have been too obvious and he wouldn't have ignored me. I was able to use a switching spell on a potion I had brewed to put it in a weakly conjured vial. I then did another switching spell putting the vial on Voldemort. The conjuration wore off a few minutes later and the potion took effect. It was a potion designed to cause paralysis on contact. He could do nothing as my spells tore him from the mortal plane. It was done the war was over.

I finished Hogwarts and Britain was rebuilding. I was happy, I was free and the world was my oyster. Then one day there was this great dark cloud, I could feeling it pulling me. I couldn't stop it, it sucked me in. I was pulled into another reality slightly behind mine in time. I found myself face to face with another Dumbledore who was alive and well. The same war I had just ended was still raging. Their Harry Potter never escaped the Dursleys. Following the death of his godfather at the end of his fifth year it was all too much for that Harry and he killed himself. Left without a prophesised one Dumbledore enacted a rare and strange ritual to summon a 'hero'. Let me tell you I was not impressed. The Dumbledore I knew was a far better man than that. I took a few weeks to learn about the differences between our worlds and the ritual that dragged me there before I claimed the dead Harry's processions and I left. I performed a barstardised version of the ritual in an attempt to be sent home. I ended up here. It took about five minutes at Gringotts to learn that this wasn't my world. An hour later I had this flat rented with some furniture and stuff ordered. An hour after that I arrived at Privet Drive."

I wasn't sure what to say. What are you mean to say in reply to that. Honestly it sounded like nonsense but if the magical world had taught me anything it was that magic was capable of almost anything. Harry also looked like a clone of my father and had a scar just like mine. His story matched my own in some places that other people shouldn't know about. Still it was very hard to believe.

"We can do this again with veritaserum involved if you want?" Harry offered seeing me hesitate. Part of me wanted to do just that but I'm pretty sure veritaserum is a restricted substance meaning I couldn't just go out and buy some for this and anything he gave me. Well could I trust that?

"No, its fine I guess. Just a lot to take in." I replied my mind still racing trying to work out what this meant.

"Yeah, I can't say I was overly happy with it but seeing myself surrounded by dead people made it rather hard for me not to believe." He added smiling wryly. "So, what's your story?"

I took a moment to think what to say before deciding on the truth. It wasn't as if I knew anything important. "Rosaline Potter, born July eighty one to James and Lily Potter. Parents murdered at Halloween, survived killing curse and shipped off to the Durselys. A decade there before the letter arrives but I tried to open it at the kitchen table. They snatched it away before I could read it. Long story short it took Hagrid appearing in the middle of the night to hand deliver my letter before I knew about magic. Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley and helped me shop. Got to school, sorted into Gryffindor because I had been told all evil wizards went to Slytherin and Malfoy was a prat. First year the defence teacher tried to steal the Philospher's stone. I, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger stopped him. Second year the Chamber of Secrets was opened. People were being petrified all over and it wasn't until Dumbledore was kicked out by Fudge that we found out where the Chamber was. Hermione had been petrified and a new message went up and Ron's sister had been taken down into the Chamber. Ron and I took Lockhart and went after her. I ended up killing the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor and stabbing the diary with a fang.

Third year, Dementors came to Hogwarts when Sirius broke out of Azkaban. That was an almost normal year excluding the whole mass murderer coming after me. End of the year, Sirius abducts Ron. Hermione and I go after him. Learn the truth about Sirius and Pettigrew. Things go to crap when we find out Lupin forgot his wolfsbane. Hermione and I ended up having to use a time turner to rescue Sirius.

Forth year. Triwizard, well I wasn't great. Fake Moody helped me in every task it turned out and rigged the third. Cedric Diggory and I tied for the cup. Pettigrew killed Diggory within seconds of us arriving. I only just escaped due to my wand being Voldemort's brother. Dumbledore announced Voldemort was back and shipped me back to the Dursleys. Spend a week there having no messages until some strange man comes and takes me away before stunning me."

Harry nodded along before picking up his notebook and quill and making a few additions to what was written.

"Now what, why did you take me?" I asked. Looking around at the flat. It seemed pretty basic, a pair of sofas and an armchair arranged in a T with a coffee table between them. The chair sat at the head of the coffee table. A little kitchenette was visible from where she sat, she knew behind her was the door to the room she woke in but she saw three more doors.

"I assumed you'd want out of Privet Drive. From what I grasped this universe is closer to the one I was pulled to than the one I came from, meaning you were closer to killing yourself than beating Voldemort. Anyway, chances are even if you aren't suicidal you're relying on Dumbledore's original plan for your scar and I still don't trust that."

"You mentioned the scar before, that and a Prophecy." I said hoping he would expand on it while I nervously touched my scar hidden beneath my long fringe. Harry didn't reply at first causing me to look up. His face was grim, not exactly reassuring. He made eye contact for a moment and I found myself thinking back to my chats with Dumbledore and his twinkling eyes. I have no idea how long we were staring at each other but when he relented he sighed.

"I can't tell you anything yet. There is a rare branch of magic that most people never hear about and fewer learn that deals with the mind. Right now there are probably only fifteen or so practitioners in the country and unfortunately you're going to have to deal with the best of them. Right now they can look into your thoughts and rifle through your memories. From them you have no secrets if they know what to look for."

"Really?" I asked stunned, it wasn't everyday someone told you that there were secret mind readers out there.

"Indeed. There is of course a defence against it but that if anything is even more restricted." Harry paused, "You have to learn it or there is no point making secret plans."

"Why is it so restricted and rare?" It didn't make sense to me. Surely nobody wanted people rooting around in their heads.

"You underestimate the insecurities of those with power. The ministry would never want people to know about this as they could then lie to the ministry. Voldemort would never want his followers to learn as it would let people lie to him. He would rather they betray each other accidentally than they ever have the chance to plot against him." Harry replied placing his book back down and resting the quill on top of it.

It made sense I guess Fudge would never approve of anyone being able to lie to him and Voldemort was definitely not going to share anything. "Okay so I learn that, then what?"

"I will not fight for you, if someone attacks me I will defend myself, I might even protect some old friends but I have already killed Voldemort once. I don't ever want to have to kill again. I will help train and guide you but unless I am forced to I will stay on the outside of the fight." Harry explained. "I can always leave."

I wanted to complain, tell him he had to help if he knew how but his offer was already more than I was going to get otherwise so I chose not to push the issue. We could always talk about it again.

"We'll start all that tomorrow. I'm hungry." Harry said before I could reply to his earlier comment. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes." With that he stood and span on the spot. A loud crack signalled his departure leaving me alone in the strange flat. Groaning I stood, I might as well use this time to look around. I went and opened each of the doors. The first led to a small bathroom, the second to a larger bedroom with a king size bed and by the looks of the door, an ensuite. A set of Russian dolls sat next to a clock and a lamp on the bedside cabinet. A desk was place under the window on the opposite end of the room to the door. The final door led to a corridor which seemed to lead to be the exit of the flat. The other side of the door had the number 37 on it suggesting that indeed it would lead to the outside. The door wasn't magically locked which was comforting as Harry had made no effort to keep me locked in. If the barstard hadn't stunned me I would be relaxed and pleased to be here. I made my way back into the lounge and made my way over to the table. The leather-bound book was lying on the table. I reached out but the moment I touched it my fingers were stinging. Letting go the pain went away instantly. Note to self, don't touch Harry's stuff. I sat down and soon Harry reappeared holding a plain white bag that smelt delicious.

"Food." He announced unnecessarily. My stomach growled. Harry sat on the sofa opposite me and started to remove cartons from the bag. "Having stayed at the Dursley's myself I doubt you've had a Chinese take-away. That's my reason for buying so much, not because I'm ravenous."

I nodded, too focused on the food to listen to what he saying. He removed the lids and revealed chicken in a lemon sauce. Fried chicken balls with a sweet and sour sauce, salt and pepper ribs with little bits of chilli. A set of pancakes and shredded duck and finally cartoons of fried rice with duck, egg and some other things in. A feast for the two of them.

"So, tell me what has Draco done in this reality to make him look like more of a prat?" Harry asked and with that we were off chatting about experiences with the Malfoy heir throughout dinner. No more discussion occurred about the future or Harry's past outside of his Hogwarts time. We went to bed that night full and content.

The next morning I woke in the bedroom that was now my own. While smaller than Harry's it was still far larger than that I had inhabited at Privet Drive. Rolling out of bed I made my way out of the room into the living room on my way to the bathroom to being my morning holding my clothes for the day. In the living room Harry was sat, that leather book in hand again. He was dressed rather smartly making me feel quite self-conscious as I shuffled towards the bathroom. If he noticed, he didn't comment. Emerging from the bathroom feeling like a human being I started towards the kitchenette for some breakfast. I'd just reached it when there was a pop and in front of me appeared a house-elf, bat like flappy ears and all.

"What can Jeevesy be getting young miss?" He asked. I stared for before asking for a cup of tea.

"No breakfast?" Harry asked across the room. "Jeevesy does fantastic poached eggs don't you?"

"I does sir, I does." The house elf replied, bouncing excitedly. "Is Miss sure she doesn't want anything?"

"She'll have some of your poached eggs on bacon and fried bread with a nice sprinkling of black pepper." Harry answered for her. I turned to complain that I was more than capable of ordering my own breakfast but I felt a tug on the back of my dress. Turning back around Jeevesy presented me with a mug of tea.

"Thank you Jeevesy." I said taking the tea. I sat down on the same sofa as last night with Harry seated in his chair. "So how long have we had a house-elf for?" I asked.

Harry smiled before replying. "About two and a half hours. You slept in."

I was shocked, Hermione had moaned and moaned about the plight of house elves and now I lived with one. "How?" I asked simply, not quite being able to put into words what I was trying to say.

"I had this chat with a man from house elf relocation. He was telling me all about how hard it is for him and his family on the standard ministry pay packet. I realised it simply would not do to have our poor ministry staff so unappreciated so I made a donation to his children's Christmas fund. He then told me all about Jeevesy and how the poor guy was desperate for a home." Harry explain.

"You bribed him?" I was torn between shock and disgust. Malfoy and people like him did stuff like that, not people who beat Voldemort.

"I eased some of the stress in his life. Stress free workers are far more efficient and so my application was able to be processed quickly." Harry explained slowly.

"Call it what you will, you bribed him." I spat angrily. Somehow my tea didn't taste half as good as before.

"If you say so. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement and Jeevesy came out happiest of all. I don't know if you've dealt with house elves before but they're incredibly useful." Harry replied not bothered at all by my anger.

"Breakfast Miss." Jeevesy announced near my elbow passing me a plate of delicious smelling food.

"Jeevesy, are you happy here so far?" Harry asked.

"Of course, sir." Jeevesy replied nervously.

"And are you happier with the work to do and the two of us to look after than you were this morning?"

"Very much. Jeevesy is very happy to have a family too look after again." The elf answered. Harry game me a loaded look clearly telling me the conversation was over. He was right though. That house elf made superb eggs.

"So, what's the plan for today?" I asked putting down the knife and fork. I became very aware of Harry's eyes on me, the look he gave was judging.

"We need to go shopping. Then I shall teach you how to keep secrets. If you achieve that, I shall share some secrets."

"Shopping?" I asked curious.

"Indeed. I need to buy supplies, standard provisions that I lack having being here around twenty-four hours. You also need to get clothes befitting the Girl-who-lived." Harry sneered at the dress I was wearing. Something that had once belonged to aunt Petunia who had fobbed it off on me when the fashions had changed. I couldn't help but feel insulted.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I snapped defensively. "And who cares about the Girl-Who-Lived? I thought you of all people would see me as a person not a title."

"You're wearing muggle rags. You are a person. You have a title. Titles are useful, they open doors. You are a fool not to take any and every advantage you can provided the cost isn't too high." Harry replied scathingly.

I knew he probably knew better. He may have removed me from Privet Drive and stopped a version of Voldemort but he seemed like an arse. I looked around searching for something to say. I didn't want to appear ungrateful but I didn't want him to think I agreed with him. It wasn't that I liked wearing Petunia's old dress but he could have raised the issue more tactfully.

"Where are we?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"The flat is in London. About a five-minute walk from the Leaky Cauldron. It would cost a fortune in the muggle world but they can't remember this floor exists and muggle repelling enchantments ensure they aren't likely to rediscover it." Harry replied with little care.

I nodded not entirely comfortable with the idea of living in somewhere that Harry implied had been stolen by wizards. The whole situation seemed strange. I was expecting us to be in a small costal town somewhere out of the way where nobody would ever think to look.

I watched as Harry stood. He put on a black long coat to which I raised an eyebrow at. He looked sheepish as he put it on.

"It's more practical than a cloak or a cape but retains the awesome badass look while not offending too many tradionalists at first glance."

"You don't seem like the sort of person who cares what others think. Else you might have discovered tact." I replied.

"You misunderstand the purpose of manners then. The point of being polite isn't to be nice, quite the opposite really. It's to provide contrast and a scale of insults. An Australian swearing means nothing, the queen however, imagine what that would take. When someone has manners, but chooses not to employ them it's a subtle snub. That or they know you very well. When that polite person is actively rude to you then you know it's severe." Harry replied looking around. "Come on then, coat on." He said as if I was a child. That being said I hadn't actually moved yet so maybe he had a point.

I got up and went back into my roam to collect my school cloak. I'm told its summer but looking out the window I'm yet to be convinced and my school cloak is the only heavy peace of outdoor clothing I own. Draping it over my shoulders I returned to the lounge to see Harry impatiently waiting by the door tapping his foot.

He wasn't wrong about how close to their flat the Leaky Cauldron was. The battered old pub came into view and I found Harry pulling me into an alley. I flinched slightly as it happened and cringed as he pulled out his wand.

"A disguise or do you want people to see you out and about?" He asked wand hovering near my face.

"Couldn't you have asked earlier, or nicer?" I protested wondering what people had thought seeing a young man roughly pulling a girl into an alleyway. Surely someone would be suspicious, especially if a girl that looked completely different emerged.

"Is now really the time?" He asked exasperated. "I forgot to offer earlier. Now do you want people to know it's you?"

"Fine disguise away." I replied wondering how I would look. The little I had seen in the Daily Prophet since the end of the tournament suggested that I was not as popular as I once was. Not that being popular was welcome either. I couldn't help but wonder if this trip would feel completely different given the freedom of anonymity.

I felt my face shift in an uncomfortable way and I noticed the hair at the edge of my vision lighten in colour to a mousy brown from its normal raven black. Harry stood back and observed his work making me feel rather uncomfortable. I really wished I was more like Lavender or Parvati and constantly carried a mirror but I had enough reminders about my scar from the stares without feeling the need to look at it myself. To think when I was younger it was the one bit of my appearance I liked. It had made me feel different and special. Now I knew what it meant it was a constant reminder of who I was and who was out there.

Sensing what I was after Harry conjured a small handheld mirror. Passing it to me I noticed it had detailing on the back. Flicking it over I saw a strange symbol. On the back engraved was snake wrapped around a familiar lightning bolt over a background of a textured background that I couldn't quite work out what it was meant to be. It just seemed like a rough square that everything else was on.

"Habit." Harry said by means of an explanation shrugging. I wondered what he mean or why he had a habit concerning conjured mirrors but putting that aside I returned to my original task of checking my new reflection. My eyes had remained that same distinctive green but my hair was lighter, my thin face rounder and my nose was more pronounced.

"Will this hold?" I checked thinking how strange it would be for my face to warp back to normal in the middle of shopping.

"I've not done a simple glamour charm. I've transfigured your face. Until your magic returns your features to their default shape it'll last. Your magic should be under your control. It will last until you resist it so ignore how unnatural it feels and want it to stay and it will." Harry replied. I nodded and headed for the exit to the alley hoping nobody would notice us return or the change in my appearance.

The rest of the walk was uneventful. The Leaky Cauldron was quite quiet and it was nice not to be stared at as we passed through into the alley. Harry seemed to know what he wanted as he strode straight into the apothecary. Inside he passed the shop owner a list, no words were said as the shopkeeper disappeared into the back. I looked to Harry for an explanation but he was inspecting some of the ingredients in the jars near other customers. When the shopkeeper returned, he was levitating a trunk. Harry walked over and inspected the contents. I tried to get a glimpse but by the time I was close enough it had been closed, shrunk and placed in a pocket of Harry's coat.

After that Harry left and led me to Madam Malkins. Walking in he went straight up to an assistant and talking, gesturing at me. I wanted to ask him about what happened in the apothecary but he was a man on a mission. The sales assistant was walking towards me I noticed, I smiled politely not sure exactly what I was meant to be doing. I had no clue what Harry had told her so I had to wait awkwardly for her to cross the last few metres to be in conversational range.

"Hello, I hear you need a complete new wardrobe. Would you like to come through and get measured up while we find some colour samples for you to browse?" The shop assistant asked. I nodded and followed her to one of the stools where I had stood the first time I had come here before Hogwarts, where I had first met Draco Malfoy. The assistant was efficient as she set an enchanted tape measure going while an enchanted quill wrote down what they would need to know while the assistant levitated over a book of fabrics of all different colours. Harry lounged in one of the chairs off to the side with this leather book and quill out again. I was asked to pick out four colours and told the wait would be around an hour. Harry got up and told them we would return to collect later.

I wasn't sure where we were headed next. I was expecting maybe Flourish and Blotts, perhaps he'd find me some defence texts and some fitness exercises and it would help me become a master duellist capable of taking on Voldemort. I knew I was small and quick, a great seeker surely that Would let me dodge around incoming spells and fire back. Clearly, I was wrong. He was instead leading me down into Knockturn Alley. So much for me and Hermione becoming the best witches ever thanks to Flourish and Blotts and summer training montage.

"What?" I asked stopping at the turning for the alley notorious for its darker tendencies. "No. We can't go down there."

Harry looked at me before sighing deeply and shaking his head. I could see him counting to ten quietly before turning back to me.

"Why not?" He asked slowly.

"It's bad, everyone knows how evil it is down there." I protested.

"Listen to yourself." He replied coldly stepping closer to make our conversation more private. "Let's go to the Leaky for a drink and a chat before we do much more."

The Leaky Cauldron was not where I expected to have a secret anti-Voldemort strategy meeting but we looked like normal average people and the anti-eavesdropping charms were entirely normal in the pub, apparently.

"Rule number one of sneaking around. Never sneak around, it makes people suspicious. Let them decide for themselves what you are up to, they'll almost always get it wrong." Harry explained. I could understand. When Hermione, Ron and I were planning we would hide in a corner somewhere and whisper. So very different from our normal behaviour that it would draw attention not remove it. Luckily we were Gryffindors so nobody really cared anyway.

"What happened in the apothecary, and why did you want to go down Knockturn alley?" I asked hoping Harry wasn't going to pull out the Dursley's 'don't ask questions' line.

"The apothecary, I purchased a large quantity of potions supplies." Harry explained, but elaborated after I gave him a questioning look. "Some of the ingredients I purchased can be used in restricted potions. The suppliers are asked to inform the ministry of every sale but it's a request not a demand. For a certain extra service charge the suppliers will forget who they sold what to especially on an order as large as mine they can get distracted quite easily."

I winced. Once again Harry was doing things I couldn't help but feel bad about. Even if they are for my benefit, bribery just seems so awful.

"That wince there is what we are going to chat about." Harry said pointing and accusing finger at me.

"I just don't like some of the things you do." I protested. "We shouldn't lower ourselves to their level."

"You listen to Granger too much, just like suicidal Harry." Harry replied with a smug look.

"And what exactly is wrong with Hermione?" I asked angrily. We may not be on the best of terms always but she was my friend and I would not let Harry insult her.

"Oh so many things. Her politics, her general outlook on life but right now her sense of morality is an anchor. I dislike killing, its so final. Once its done its done and you have the rest of your life to ponder if you could have done something differently. I was haunted by my memories at night all my fifth year. You have no idea what it was like to stab Pettigrew with that knife, it was so real, so unclean. The killing curse requires hatred but the killing itself is clean, detached. I could feel the life bleed out of him. Did I feel satisfaction and killing one of the men responsible for the death of my parents? Maybe, I don't know, maybe it was lost in the horror of all his blood literally on my hands. I was in a daze when I stunned Voldemort and portkeyed back. That being said it changed the course of the war. That death may have saved hundreds, we got to interrogate Voldemort. Morality is too big for us to comprehend, we just have to do what we need to do to survive and live with the consequences."

"Dumbledore always says that we must often choose between what is right and what is easy. He also says our choices define us." I replied. To me he had indeed made the war easier but if he could have done it without the killing it would have been more right.

"The headmaster and I used to discuss that a lot. Has he told you about him and Gellert yet?" Harry asked.  
"No?" I replied hesitantly, suddenly remembering that Harry knew the headmaster much better than I.

"Well then its not my secret to share. Lets just say that the headmaster regrets a lot of his youth and does his best not to let others make the same mistakes he did. He tries not to involve himself too much in politics but prefers to sit and guide. People thrust power and responsibility onto him because of who he is but he barely trusts himself with power. Why else would he have been Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump for so long and yet so little has changed. He doesn't trust himself to make the right choices." Harry explained.

"But he's Dumbledore." I argued as if that statement should be enough for him.

"The same Dumbledore who left you with the Dursleys? The same Dumbledore that did nothing to prevent the rise of Lord Voldemort only fighting him once he was already established as a murderer. The man was my mentor, my friend but part of growing up is accepting your idols are human too." Harry replied sadly.

"But." I protested not sure where to go from there.

"I know. The world is a better, safer place when you believe he can do anything, solve any problem. When you realise he's as flawed as the rest of us suddenly the danger becomes real."

I nodded in agreement. He was right, Dumbledore hadn't managed to stop Voldemort last time, I had and that was a fluke and I have no mother left to die in my place anymore.

"Which brings us to you. Let me explain the three sides in this fight. Firstly you have Voldemort, he has wealthy dedicated followers, they can buy anything but want to work from the shadows. The ministry, well they have the numbers and popular support. Its few aurors are damned good at what they do. What they lack is direction and purpose, they have the numbers but no way to use them when a third of the ministry is bought and paid for by Voldemort. Then you have Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix, his secret resistance group. What do they have? The moral high ground." Harry said sighing. "That's it, there are less of them than Death Eaters and generally they are poorer and less influential. They can fight and resist but they can't win."

I didn't say anything. It was a bleak outlook. Harry was right, Lucius Malfoy basically controlled the minister, the ministry wasn't going to be doing much good no matter how well trained the aurors were.

"Who are the Order?" I asked wondering.

"I never really interacted with them. They thought themselves better than me and I knew I was better than them. It's a collection of Dumbledore's friends and people who want to do the right thing. I think the Weasleys family joined. I worked with the eldest brother Bill a few times." Harry answered.

I couldn't help but feel more glum. There was no way that the Weasleys nice as they were could compete with Lucius Malfoy. Sipping on my butterbeer I thought about the war to come, about the number of people who would die.

"There is a prophecy," Harry stated reminding me of what he had said last night. "I won't give you the exact wording until you can defend your mind but the gist of it is you or him. Its why he's been out for us since we were born."

I wasn't surprised. I should have been but instead everything seemed to make some sick sense. There wasn't any need for him to explain who 'him' was either.

"Snape told him the first line but he's never heard the whole thing. Dumbledore has." Harry continued. "After what happened when we were young he's desperate to know what the rest of it says in case it helps him avoid any more mistakes."

"So, is the rest of it important?" I asked feeling some sense of hope, perhaps misplaced but if the prophecy was enough to scare Voldemort into action then maybe it held the secret to defeating him.

"Not really. Prophecies are strange. Nobody is sure quite what they are. All people know is they come true, whether they make it so or if people who have heard it do is up for debate. It really doesn't matter much, what does is the fact that it exists. So long as Voldemort believes you to be the one with the potential to defeat him then he will want you dead. If you want to defeat him he has to die and you have to be the one to kill him. You understand what that means?"

"I guess," I replied. "So are you going to train me to fight him?" Harry laughed rudely.

"I could give you all I can but he has decades of practice over you. If you want to do the honourable thing and challenge him to a public duel in the middle of Diagon Alley they'll be cleaning pieces of you off the walls for weeks. No you can't win that way."

"So what can I do?" I interjected desperately.

"You cheat. I could barely hold my own against him and I was top of my class throughout school, personal apprentice and trainee of Albus Dumbledore. You, what do you have?"

It hurt when he put it like that. In his world Harry would have been a magical titan, with Voldemort and Dumbledore gone if he was on their level he would have had the world as his oyster but what am I?

I never worked as hard as Hermione wanted me to. I was never top in anything other than defence and we'd only really had two years' worth of class on that and one of those was taught by a Death Eater. I'd survived the tournament through luck not skill and the fake Moody had been helping me where he could. What hope did I have of doing things now? Harry was right, decades of skill and experience could not be easily overcome.

"So what can I do?" I asked again.

"Accept that people are going to die. You might be the only one able to stop him but if you don't do it nobody will. That means you have to do it properly, if you lose everyone loses."

"No pressure, eh?" I joked trying to relieve the tension.

"People will keep dying until you stop him. The quicker you do that, the more people live."

"You are not making me feel better." I added.

"I'm trying to make you feel awful, it means you can understand what is at stake. You want to know why I wanted to go down Knockturn alley? Because I can get things there that make this easier."

I nodded sadly.

"If you could defeat Voldemort now, save hundreds, maybe thousands of lives but at the cost of your soul would you do it?" Harry asked seriously.

I nodded again.

"Note, it costs you your soul not your life. You would have to live knowing that you went against so much of what you believed in so others didn't have to."

I could understand now I think. His whole cheating mantra, the whole bribery thing. This wasn't about right or wrong. It was about survival. If we do some wrong it could lead to a whole load of right but was it worth the cost. Its easy to say yes. Dying would be easy for me. For the first time I could understand why the other Harry killed himself. My parents were waiting for me there. It would be peaceful, I'd never have to worry again. Living would be harder, especially with the cost Harry was talking about.

"I have to kill him don't I?" I asked. "Really kill him. Not just stop him but actually kill him."

"If this ends and the only one you've killed is him then you've been exceptionally lucky or others have paid the price." Harry replied sombrely.

It was suddenly real. The man who murdered my parents was back. The man who murdered so many others and it was on me to stop him and there was no way I could do it without doing things I wouldn't be proud of.

"Let's go to Knockturn Alley." I stated, accepting that this was the beginning of something that would be as mentally hard as anything else. This wasn't going to be a magical summer camp where Voldemort was simply a final obstacle. This was going to be life and death and I would choose to be proactive rather than break down in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Let's go to Knockturn Alley." Harry repeated back to me, standing and putting on his ridiculous long coat. The walk was quiet neither in the mood to chat. I stuck close to Harry as we navigated through the alley.

The shop we entered looked just as dingy from the outside as the rest on the street. I could smell the grime that seemed to cover the alley even in the shop but did my best not to let my displeasure show. The shop we had entered was much cleaner than the street outside. A goblin was behind the counter with an ugly snarl on its face.

"You have items with no families?" Harry asked.

"I do." Replied the Goblin with a glare. Clearly this guy hadn't had the same customer service training they had in Madam Malkins.

"I want two knives. Without ties. Plain blades, blood cursed handles. Show me what you have." Harry instructed. The Goblin scowled before bringing out a chest. From the chest the Goblin extracted seven knives. Four were covered in gems, two were vicious looking things, less knives, more instruments of savagery. One had a strange curved blade with a large loop in the bottom of the handle which Harry picked up. I could swear I hear him murmur 'hello old friend.' He may well have done. He told me himself he stabbed Pettigrew with a knife and he knew where to come.

We left the shop with two knives which may or may not have illegal blood magic on cursing anyone who tried to use them without permission. Being the same person except for gender gave us a little leeway with each other's but I doubted that would ever come up. I could feel it like a heavy statement of intent strapped to the middle of my back, the handle poking out towards my right hip so I could reach around and grab it if needed.

That seemed to be everything and after collecting our package from Madam Malkins we arrived back at the flat in time for a very late lunch. I knew that the afternoon would be spent on the mind arts and how to keep secrets but Harry seemed off in his own world as he read from a book he had collected from his room while Jeevesy rushed around doing his best to keep us full and happy. After a round of tea we settled on opposite sofas and turned our attention to the afternoon's lessons.

"So, what do you know about the mind arts?" Harry asked looking far too intense for a friendly chat after lunch. I shrugged trying to think of a reply that didn't make me seem like an ignorant dunderhead.

"Not much, basically what you've told me already." I conceded, hoping that this would be fine.

"Well that's probably more than most people" Harry replied. "The mind arts aren't forbidden as such as to be so would mean there is a record of them. Something to investigate for all aspiring criminals. To understand why they are so rare you must understand what a master of the mind arts can achieve. The most important thing is they can lie. They can lie so well that they can believe their own lie enough to beat vertiaserum. Neither the Ministry nor Voldemort would ever want people that can lie to them. Voldemort would rather his followers betray each other under veritaserum confident that he can escape than they could lie to him. Those close to him able to plot against him are far scarier than those far away actively against him."

I nodded in understanding. Voldemort would not take it well if one of his own was plotting against him. He would never trust someone who could lie to him and the ministry would never want people who could lie under veritaserum. It could destroy public confidence in the DMLE.

"There is also the offensive side of the mind arts. A simple but incomplete description would be mind reading. The mistake being that the mind is like a book. No mind is so structured. What it does is browse thoughts and memories. Passive legilimency is browsing what is available at the front of the mind. Very little intrusion, hard to detect and doesn't require a wand. A wand is used for the more aggressive form which implants thoughts, ideas and concepts into the target mind and follow the target's thought process. With enough control, each thought or memory can be captured and examined."

"It can be done without a wand?" I checked suddenly concerned. Every thought I had would have been potentially exposed.

"Yes. For most it requires eye contact, for the truly talented it doesn't but they are rare. Ever made eye contact with Snape or Dumbledore and felt exposed, as if they knew the truth?"

I nodded disgusted, feeling violated. There were many times when I had felt they knew more than I let on. Every time I made eye contact with either one of them they were violating my privacy.

"Teach me." I urged not even caring about the secrets he would share I just wanted to feel safe in my own head again. Harry smirked knowing he'd got the desired effect.

"There are a few ways to teach. The standard is to assault your mind again and again crudely so you become used to the feeling, like a scratch in your mind would become more sensitive. Imagine someone poking you in the side, at first it happens and you flinch, over time you get used to it, eventually you start slapping the hand before it gets close. A master controls their mind and thoughts well enough that they can focus on a single thought well enough that the moment they feel an intrusion there is nothing to be found. Their focus can become so strong that any stimulus added is washed away instead of triggering memories or thoughts. That focus allows them to filter what they say even under the influence of veritaserum."

It sounded boring but do able. To focus on one thing and not let the mind wander. Unfortunately, I was well practiced in the opposite. Living with the Dursleys' and sitting through Binns' lectures had left me often letting my mind wander. That and my tendencies to procrastinate and let Hermione do a lot of my school work for me had left me with rather poor mental discipline even if I was better at keeping my mouth shut than Ron, just.

"You ready to start?" Harry asked. I nodded and he drew his wand. "While the standard way is to attack, I think there is a better way. Now I've only taught this once and the person was much more disciplined that you so don't expect miracles. Now when using legilimency one forms a connection between two minds. A connection goes both ways, I'm going to form the connection with you, draw you into my mind and then demonstrate what needs to be done. So try and get a clear picture of what is happening. When you can't feel or seem much try sending me emotions or images and feel what happens."

I looked at Harry's eyes, mirrors to my own as he levelled his wand at me. "Legilimens." I heard him whisper. Suddenly the room felt blurred as images rushed through my mind. I could feel the urge to push come again and again so I did. I felt myself drawn somewhere strange. It all changed, all I could now see was an image of a Russian doll, everything else in the background seemed blurred and out of focus. Confused I urged myself to open the doll and as expected another lay inside. I opened another and another until I grew frustrated. As my frustration grew I became more aware of the room we were sat in and the connection between our minds faded away.

My head was pounding and I was feeling slightly tired and weak. I looked up to Harry who was watching me, a neutral expression on his face giving nothing away. I knew full well he was judging me but I was still adjusting after whatever that was.

"Well, that was a first attempt. Did you understand what you were seeing?" Harry asked. I leaned back into the sofa groaning.

"There were Russian dolls. Only one, but it seemed like it had loads of layers."

"A misconception amongst those who have heard of the mind arts but don't actually know them is that the connection can be prevented. That there are shields or something like a bubble within your head to keep people out. These people understand nothing, imagine how draining it would be to be constantly casting a shield spell non-stop all day, every day. It's stupid. The aim is to suppress everything so the connection is useless, some say clear your mind. I find that too hard, therefore I focus on something very simple. Thus, the dolls."

"But why?" I asked wondering if they had some deeper meaning.

"I found some one day at a market, they have no association to anything else. If you pick something personal then it's on display, if you have strong feelings about it then they can be detected and followed to their source." Harry replied.

"I don't understand." I protested confused. "If its something you can focus on completely to supress everything else then surely it has to be personal?"

"Occlumency isn't meant to be easy it's a lot simpler in concept than people think but for something so simple its hard to do. The mind is a complex place and unique for each person. There are some trends which is what legilmencers use to find what they want but you have to find what works for you. You need something that you can focus on while you filter."

"Filter?"

"Filter." Harry replied. "Filtering, taking a moment to adjust your mind before you reply. The Harry in the last world, he knew his godfather, I assume you do to. Imagine you were questioned under veritaserum. Someone asks; do you know where the criminal Sirius Black is?"

I nodded in understanding. I wasn't sure where this was going, I didn't know where Sirius was so it seemed pointless. Perhaps it showed because Harry changed his line.

"Well the other Harry knew where he lived. Maybe you'll learn soon, he had just finished his fifth year. Either way pretend you do know. Now your average person would reply telling them where they believed Black to be because for most a belief is a truth. For me there would be two simple ways to tell the specific truth to give an overall lie. For example, he wasn't given a trial therefore isn't a criminal consequently you may know where Sirius Black is but you could honestly reply that you do not know where the criminal Black is. Alternatively, you focus on the knowing bit. If you knew his home address, then you might be tempted to give that up. However, do you know for certain he is currently there, do you know exactly where he is without doubt? If not then you don't know. Filtering is adjusting everything, input and output so it suits you redefining whatever you need to, making the truth subjective not absolute."

I sighed deeply. "So how do I do that?"

"If you were a Slytherin then you would already have the basic preparation down." Harry replied smirking.

"Why, all you little snakes are trained liars?" I spat angry at his lack of clear answers frustrated that I didn't understand.

"More that we think before we speak." He answered with annoying calmness. "Its an extension of that. Deeper, you become used to breaking down everything said, you analyse it, what do they want you to say, what can you say, why do they want to know? All before you even think about replying properly. Magics makes us objectively better than muggles. Ignoring morality, or what makes a good person, we are normally physically more resistant, we grow up faster, live longer and for the most part we are often smarter suggesting magic already affects the way we think."

"Why?" I asked again more exasperated now that angry, clearly going through an emotional maelstrom in the face of his relaxed smugness.

"A legilimenes can input a thought or idea into your head and follow it. Filtering allows you to slow it down and allow you to focus on clearing your thoughts and supressing the input while you analyse what they are after which could allow you to counter attack."

"So, I need to do both?" I checked.

"Yep, occlumency focuses more on the supressing bit but filtering is what allows you to beat veritaserum, compulsions and all the other fun stuff. You'll become aware of the origin of your thoughts and it will allow you to tune out all those but your own. When you understand that then your spells about the mind will become far subtler and more effective. Now you felt what it was like, you need to find something to focus on. We can work on filtering for the next few days while you try and find something to focus on. Remember if like my dolls, it can be interacted with then you need to know what happens next, don't pick something so complicated that you'll never get it, something small simple and neutral, the more emotionally removed from the thing you are the less likely it is to act as a gateway for the legilimens."

The next week progressed with hours dedicated to changing the way I think. To pouring magic into my thought processes and clarifying my ideas. I had taken to wandering around the flat looking for something simple enough that I could understand it and think about it completely but had no attachment to. I had used the image of my patronus, Prongs but Harry had used that to leverage himself into what memories I used to cast it which allowed him access to other memories involving my friends. I had tried using the carpet but I couldn't hold the image well enough, it kept slipping. The worst thing I realised was that this was changing my personality. I was becoming more cynical and sarcastic. After spending a morning under a compulsion charm set to make me feel that I needed the bathroom I was reaching Moody levels of paranoia about my thoughts. I had retreated to within my mind which was becoming a fortress, a refuge where I felt safe. I examined every idea I had, every urge to find its cause, it was a nuisance but so was spending the morning attached to the toilet seat. I could honestly say I wouldn't be surprised if my friends didn't recognise me at first.

The past week had been enlightening and strange. Living with Harry was not normal, neither of us worked and we had a house elf. We spend most of the time working on my mental magic meaning to anyone looking we would spend hours staring at each other in silence. Harry was still rather abrasive but I was becoming increasingly so and in doing so I was becoming accustomed to him and learning what to filter out and what to listen to. I had grown quite fond of our little flat and the freedom I had to wander into muggle London provided that I had my wand and had told Harry where I was going. Today was going to be different. Harry had announced at breakfast that he deemed my Occlumency good enough to tell me about the prophecy and my scar.

We were sat on opposite sofas again, tea in front of us. I was feeling nervous and tense. There was a small amount of excitement in there as well but that was weaker. I knew this was serious else I wouldn't have to invest over five hours as day for the past week working on my mental defences. Harry had deemed them passable, not good, passable. It seemed I had a lot more work to go.

"What I'm about to talk about is true in my world and the world I was pulled into so I am making the assumption it's the same here. Its about why Voldemort came after us that Halloween. Why its always down to us to stop him. I'll explain Dumbledore's plan and why Voldemort is still alive but I want you to promise not to interrupt. I might be about to answer your questions if you're just a bit more patient." Harry stated.

"Fine." I acknowledged. I had better self-control now than I used to. I might even be able to keep my word.

"Sometime before we were born a prophecy was made stating ' _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...'_ now, I assume mark him has changed to her but otherwise it's probably the same. Dumbledore heard this and so did Snape although Snape only heard the first bit. Snape, an active death eater at the time told Voldemort what he knew and Voldemort identified our parents and us as the target. Snape had a creepy obsession with mum and realising that Voldemort wanted her dead he went to Dumbledore to try and get him to help her which is how Snape became a spy."

I was bristling with anger. That greasy barstard was the reason I can hear my mother being asked to move aside when I'm near dementors. That miserable, spiteful git. The pathetic excuse for a man, the one who took out his own inadequacies on students was the reason my parents were dead. Sure, they were in a war but it was his fault that they were specifically targeted. Despite that he still felt he had the right to belittle me. How many people had that monster killed during the war and Dumbledore let him teach the children that survived? That was sick, to potentially force them to be taught by him who killed their parents. My filtering had already asked how Snape had been allowed to go to Dumbledore. I assumed he was somehow able to spy on Dumbledore for Voldemort, if so how many people had been sold out by Snape to keep his cover intact. Spies who give no information are useless and Voldemort wouldn't like that. Snape must be brave to spy on Voldemort, now I knew this he was brave if he thought I would let this go. I was snapped back to the present when Harry continued.

"It didn't matter, Pettigrew sold out our parents and they died. The killing curse was reflected back on Voldemort. Now obviously, everyone thought Black was the traitor so Dumbledore intervened sending Hagrid to secure you as a baby while he checked what had happened. He had a few theories and you were kept at Hogwarts for a day under observation until you were sent to your closest living relatives for your own protection. Now have you ever asked why Voldemort survived the reflected killing curse?"

"Hagrid said there wasn't enough human left of him to die." I replied thinking back to my first day back in the wizarding world. "I never asked what he meant."

"Voldemort did something horrific. He split his own soul."

I wasn't sure quite what that meant but it sounded awful and Harry's normally impassive face was screwed up in distaste.

"There is a dark ritual, you murder an innocent which shatters your soul, you then tear out a fragment and place it in a prepared object. Doing so tethers your soul to the mortal plane. You cannot die as part of you remains here. Voldemort has made several of these. They have to be destroyed before he can die"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I knew he had survived but I never considered that Voldemort was in effect immortal. Suddenly it all felt so very hard.

"Now onto the scar. It's one of these objects."

"So, I have to be destroyed before he can die?" I asked bitterly.

"Of course not, I'm sitting here aren't I?" Harry replied contemptuously. "Now listen closely because this next bit will explain a lot. Dumbledore has always suspected what lives in your scar. He sees that as the neither can live bit. He believes that if you die willingly, like mum did, then your sacrifice will protect the rest of us from Voldemort in the same way we were. That's why he's never taught you anything, he's always indulged you. He wants you to have a happy childhood free of fame. He wants you to grow up selfless and good, he doesn't want you to die but he sees it as the only option."

"Why did he teach you then?" I asked. I knew that I was feeling panicked and there were several other emotions crashing around in my head but I was trying to stay focused, I could deal with that stuff later.

"I wasn't what he wanted to at all. He was scared I would be the next Voldemort. How would I willingly sacrifice myself if I was always sacrificing others. He took me under his wing to steer me away from being a dark lord not to train me to fight another."

"Okay." I accepted his answer, I wasn't happy but I couldn't tell if that was with him, Dumbledore or life in general. "So, I'm like livestock, raised to be slaughtered."

"More or less, but that was his plan. Obviously, I found another way."

"How?" I asked, I could feel my own desperation but there was nothing I could do. I didn't want to die if I could avoid it. I would if I had to I think but I wouldn't choose to. To me the life of everyone else against my own wasn't even a choice.

"I performed the same ritual as Voldemort."

"You split your soul?" I asked disgusted.

"Nope, conveniently my soul was already fragmented, or rather there was a fragment floating about in me. I just used that instead of a part of my own."

"So, you didn't destroy it?" I asked confused.

"I thought we were past these stupid questions. Of course I destroyed it, I just waited until it was in something else, not me." Harry replied, his lips thinning. I could tell having spent so much time with him that his patience was running thin. He may be calmer than me most of the time and more grown up but deep down we had the same temper.

"So we do that?" I asked.

"So we do that." He confirmed. I sighed in relief. "Of course, it is a highly illegal dark ritual and even knowing it would land you in Azkaban so it's a good thing that we're working on your ability to keep secrets." I groaned.

"Why doesn't Dumbledore want me to do the ritual?" I asked.

"He doesn't know the specifics. He's also not sure if it would work and is worried about the temptation it could have on you. His way relies on the power of love and good intentions. Far more noble and in his opinion safer than twisting a dark ritual that is essentially the peak of selfishness to do some good." Harry replied.

Harry left me alone after that chat, moving into his bedroom for a while. I appreciated it as it gave me the time and privacy to think. I began to process what had been said. My whole life began to make a bit more sense. Why Voldemort always came after me. Why he and I seemed to have our fates intertwined. I also understood why Dumbledore was fine with me risking my life so often, he wanted me to die in a certain way but that was adjustable, so long as I died. His kind smiles and encouragement was all about me going out and having fun, he wanted me happy and willing to die. How terrifying that he had engineered my life since I was born. Every time I smiled it eased the guilt he had to be feeling.

That afternoon we worked on my legilimency, Harry told me that if I could master it then he and his Dumbledore had engineered their own teaching method using it which would speed everything else up. I could reliably form a connection and input ideas before following them but I struggled to keep focused when confronted with some of the memories.

"Right. We're going out." Harry declared after I inadvertently broke the connection yet again. This time I had been doing light passive legilimency but came distracted as he thought of something deliberately shocking.

"Where?" I asked curious. We normally stayed in the flat when we weren't going into muggle London and that was often planned. This seemed much more spur of the moment.

"Hogsmeade, we're going to meet one of the most useful people we'll ever meet. We're also going to a pub, where better to practice scanning surface thoughts than somewhere where they couldn't detect you if they tried." Harry declared. I was surprised, we'd avoided other wizards for the most part, even Hedwig hadn't been used since I moved to the flat in case she was followed by Voldemort or Dumbledore. I had initially been reluctant to scan the surface thoughts of others, easily remembering how disgusted I had been with the breech in privacy but it seemed Harry's whole winning at the cost of your soul plan had little room for my feelings towards such things.

Hogsmeade was quiet as we arrived late afternoon. I made towards the Three Broomsticks thinking pub before I realised Harry was headed to the Hog's Head. I'd never been in the dingy pub but I hadn't heard good things. The smell as we entered nearly made me turn around but Harry sighed with relief as if coming home after a long day and walked right up to the bar. I followed him trying not to touch anything as the amount of dirt in the place would make Aunt Petunia faint.

The barman was old. He also looked rather unimpressed with my presence and even less with my order of a butterbeer. Harry however was smiling at him and pulled out his wand casting a series of charms around us. Before I could ask what they where I became aware the Bartender was right behind me.

"Abe, meet Rosaline Potter." Harry said to the bartender smiling.

"Do I know you?" this Abe asked suspiciously.

"Nope, although I am going to ask you for some help." Harry replied his cheer not failing him.

"Oh, are you?" Abe asked gruffly clearly not impressed.

"Yep. You see, you know who Rosaline is. You're probably aware of your brother's interest in her. Now I need some help bursting his bubble. You know how he gets when he thinks he knows better than the rest of us."

"You clearly know him." Abe stated. "Sounds like you know him well enough to deal with it."

"You're going to miss out on bringing your brother back down to earth?" Harry asked feinting shock.

I couldn't take it anymore so I interjected. "Sorry, who's your brother?"

"Oh yeah, Rosaline Potter, meet Aberforth Dumbledore."

Aberforth grunted at that. I looked at the man differently after that. This was the headmaster's brother. I should have guessed from what Harry was saying but I had to be sure. They were around the same age but if forced to guess I would say Aberforth was slightly younger.

"So why exactly does Albus think he knows better this time?" Aberforth grunted clearly not happy, then again from what I could tell the man didn't have a happy.

"Well, firstly you know better than anyone how Albus views family. If Rose here didn't want to spend time with her delightful family then you could imagine how that doesn't fit with his idea of what a family should be."

"I might be able to."

"Then you might also understand how he could place a young girl who he thinks he cares for in danger." Harry said softly and more quietly than anything he had said previously in the conversation.

"Oh and how might you know about that?" Aberforth asked. I could tell Harry had touched a nerve but I couldn't tell if Aberforth was angry or upset.

"Albus might not know me that well but I know him." Harry replied calmly.

"Well if he's about to screw up like that again then I could have a word with him." Aberforth grunted after a drawn-out pause.

"Thank you. Would you mind if I flooed you when I need his beard tweaked?"

"Go ahead. Albus is about due a slap down."

We didn't stay long after that. I practiced my legilimency a bit on some of the patrons but learnt little from their surface thoughts and Harry didn't want us there long. A later dinner courtesy of my new favourite house-elf. I went to bed that night reflecting again on what the prophecy meant for me. I was a bit surprised as well that I had taken the fact that I had a piece of Voldemort living in my scar but I guess knowing we had a plan for it helped.

The next morning I woke to a tapping on my window. Rolling out of bed I saw Ron's tiny owl whizzing around. I let it in much to Hedwig's dismay. Taking the letter from the excitable little owl I made my way through into the living room accepting a cup of tea from Jeavesy as I went. I sat on the sofa that over the week had become my own and began to read. It was actually from Hermione. It seemed that she and the others who she was staying with her had learnt I was no longer at Privet Drive and were worried. They had looked for me and were now rather worried. It seemed a little silly to send the letter after looking. Surely if I had been kidnapped then I wouldn't be able to reply and it would have been much easier to simply ask if I was okay before they searched for me. I wasn't quite sure how to reply. Harry had made it clear on my second day that he would rather not let people know where I was until I was deemed acceptable in the mind arts. I had accepted that and not used Hedwig but why hadn't they written to me? Was it hypocritical to get annoyed that they hadn't written to me when I hadn't written to them? I couldn't write because I was in hiding, kind of. They on the other hand had no reason to not write to me. They hadn't written to me before I came here either.

Harry came in from the from front door and took of his coat, passing it to Jeevesy who popped off to place it in Harry's room then off to the kitchen to make tea. He sunk himself into his armchair with a sigh of relief.

"Good morning to you too." I remarked gazing over the letter again.

"It's England, have you been outside today, there is nothing good about this morning."

"I haven't and it's about to get worse." I stated watching his reactions.

"Oh?" He enquired as he hugged the tea he'd just been given closer to him. Cradling it like his first born.

"My friends want to know where I am." I explained. He looked confused for a moment.

"You mean they haven't already?" He asked.

"Yeah, I would have told you. You didn't want anyone to know where we are." He looked mildly amused, as if he expected me to have just ignored him.

"Well its up to you know. I know at some point either you, me or both are going to have to sit down with Albus for a bit which is why we got Aberforth on board." Harry offered. "Its always best to control the situation. Rule number two of Slytherin, never fight a fight you aren't sure you're going to win. Is this going to be a fight?"

I took a moment to think through how I would expect everyone to react. Ron probably wouldn't care too much. He might feel left out if I was learning lots of cool magic but I wasn't learning that, I was learning super secretive stuff about the way we think. At times, there was barely any magic involved at all. He'd get bored. Hermione would be irritated that I learnt anything without her and would expect me to teach her. She'd also be very concerned that I ran off with a stranger even if it had been basically an abduction. Ron might understand that having visited the Dursleys but not Hermione. She'd prattle on about how dangerous it was for me to have left. Dumbledore, well I wasn't sure how he would react at all, not anymore. Mrs Weasley would not be happy but she could never stay angry at me. Sirius, well he was my godfather but I didn't really know him not to mention the little I do know of him it would be highly hypocritical of him to complain about running of to do something rash.

"It will be a fight with some of them."

"Are you going to win it?" Harry checked.

"Eventually but not at first." I conceded.

"So, you need to draw them out and whittle them down."

"If I wanted to kill them one by one yes. I do however want to have some living friends so more helpful advice please."

"Draw out their complaints and deal with them. Anticipate their arguments and remember you can't argue with an idiot. Someone too foolish or stubborn to ever change their views isn't worth speaking with. Malfoys and Gryffindors both tend to fall into this category." Having lived with him long enough I took it for the half joke it was rather than get offended. He wasn't wrong though, Ron as dear to me as he may be, Hermione too often tended to ignore what they wanted to ignore and fit the facts to their evidence. True I had been guilty of this too, Snape in first year was a good example. Could I argue with them or would it just descend into shouting with neither side moving an inch to meet in the middle?

"I don't think they'd listen. They'd just tell me they have their reasons and that should be good enough." I admitted sadly. I wanted to trust them but now I just put a cynical edge on everything.

"Consider that you are basically still a child. They have every reason to think they know best. As far as they know they do." Harry suggested. I fought down the indignation that came with being called a child. Filtering it out, identifying that he wasn't factually wrong regardless of how I felt about it.

"Can I convince them that this is best for me?" I asked. I might have been overly happy about being stunned on arrival, he had later admitted it was so he could finish setting up the other rooms in peace as well as go back to the Dursley's as he wanted to obliviate him from their memories, but this was already my best summer yet. I had so much freedom. I ate proper food that I didn't have to work for and I was learning useful stuff that might keep me alive. A side effect of the occlumency and filtering was I was handling Cedric's death much better and I didn't want the nightmares back.

"I don't know any of them. I avoided talking to Gryffindors when I could. Half of them seemed to take my sorting as a personal insult and they weren't friendly with most Slytherins to begin with."

Understandable if not helpful. Would they listen to me?

"Anyway, even if they were prepared to listen before they have no reason to believe that you aren't being forced to reply under duress so they have every reason to take everything you write as a lie. There isn't much you can do about that." Harry added having thought some more. I nodded in acknowledgment. There really wasn't much I could do to convince them I was better off here.

"I'd have to visit them." I realised.

"You would." Accepted Harry.

"They might not let me leave." I concluded. It followed that they wouldn't want me to go back to a potential kidnapper regardless of how helpful said kidnapper was being.

"Indeed." Harry said unfolding a newspaper he'd bought this morning while he was out.

"So I can either go reassure them but risk them kidnapping me from the kidnappers for my own safety or I can ignore them and worry them but keep learning." I theorised out loud.

"Uh, huh." Harry grunted. I wasn't sure if he was actually listening or not as he browsed the paper but I didn't really care.

"What would you do?" I asked exasperated after having got up and paced for a minute.

"I'm lazy. I'd have just confounded them to believe whatever was convenient at the time and added a compulsion to leave me alone but I'm not you and you can't confound anyone yet." Harry replied not looking up from his paper.

"You're not helping." I sighed.

"Not trying to. Much like Voldemort, it's your problem, deal with it while I watch from the side-lines and hope something entertaining happens."

Damn him, he had a point. I still wasn't happy that he refused to directly help with Voldemort but having thought about it he was already helping me which is more than I was getting before. I could understand too how this wasn't really his world, he had no attachments to fight for. I hoped overtime he might grow fond enough of me that he would try and keep me alive but I guess if he could just hop dimension again then I was replaceable.

"What about if I visited them somewhere I chose." I suggested. "No, they could just stun me or grab me and apparate me away. Even in public they could find a way around it."

"Uh huh."

"I could visit them and have a way out."

"Uh huh."

"Can you teach me to apparate?"

"I could. Can you be sure they'll take you somewhere you can apparate from."

"Damn."

"Uh huh."

I paced some more. I wasn't happy with the idea of leaving them in the dark, they would worry about me and I didn't want that. I wanted to speak to them, show them I was fine but until I worked out how to not let it be a one-way trip I couldn't go.

"What about portkeys. I took one from Hogwarts, does that mean that nowhere stops them?" I asked.

"More places block portkey arrivals than departures. They're a good way to evacuate multiple people or move large objects in one go. They're also great if the person travelling doesn't know the destination." Harry explained without looking up.

"So why doesn't everyone just make portkeys all the time?" I asked now curious.

"Portkeys are weird, you can't use conjured objects so you have to have something on you all the time and unless its set up to be multiple use you have to recast the spell each time whereas appartion is instant. Both are complex magic. Heck only about one in three grown adults feel comfortable apparating, far less know how to make portkeys." He answered.

"Can you make a portkey?" I asked.

"I can." He confirmed.

"You could make me one, I could go chat and probably take the portkey back here?" I suggested

"I mean it is a physical possibility."

"But?"

"But I wouldn't make it here. I would make it to somewhere near here and you can walk the last bit in case they can trace it. Portkeys aren't impossible to trace." Harry stated turning the page of his paper.

"Will you?"

"Fine. But only if you prove I won't have to move to avoid being stalked." He conceded.

"How do I do that?" I asked. I doubted it was related to occlumency as he stated that ever since I had started using the portrait of the Fat Lady as my image I had been making rapid progress. I had decided with complete conviction that only those invited or those with the password could enter my mind. That concept was so simple I could hold it against almost anything. Even better since the password was only in my mind so they'd have to break in to break in.

"Jeevesy" He called. The little elf popped next to him happy to be of service. "In my trunk, second compartment, third shelf could you grab one of the vials of the clear liquid please." The elf popped off to fulfil his request causing me to shake my head at how lazy he was being. It wasn't like our flat was a mansion he was just looking to give the elf some more work.

"Here master." The elf said passing a vial over.

"Thank you. Can you go back to what you were doing now please." Harry dismissed the elf.

"Well?" I asked

"Veritaserum." He answered removing the stopper from the vial.

"I didn't think we actually had any of that."

"We didn't, I'm good at potions." Was his reply.

"Fine." I replied sitting down on my sofa and allowing him to administer the potion. Three drops hit my tongue, immediately I could feel the difference. I felt calmer, unnaturally so.

"Where do you currently live?" The question seemed reverberate in my mind. It was the most important question I had ever been asked. I had to answer. I opened my mouth but my filtering kicked in, how much detail do I reply with it asked. I had to give the best answer.

"London." I heard myself reply.

"More precisely?" The question I felt such a strong urge to answer but my brain held back, how best to answer, how precise is precise?

"The smaller bedroom on the left. The one without the ensuite." I answered.

"What about an address?" Yes an address, not necessarily my address.

"Church Road, Wimbledon SW19 5AE" I answered hoping he like tennis.

"And what is your address?"

I had to think for a moment. "I'm not married so you can address me as Miss."

"Who do you live with?"

"Myself." I replied, Harry was me, kind of.

"Who else?"

"A house elf." I replied, that one was easy.

"Who owns the house-elf?"

"I do." I replied. Harry was just another version of me.

"Who took you from Privet Drive?"

"I did." I replied using the previous logic.

"Why haven't you written to any of your friends?"

"Hedwig was in her cage." I replied. If she was in her cage she couldn't take any letters.

"Why was she in her cage?" I stumbled, why was she in her cage?

"Because." I paused and the strangeness increased, I had to answer the urge was so strong. "Uncle Vernon doesn't like her flying around." I remembered. I didn't feel the need to reply that I was talking about the summer after my first year but I decided that was what they were asking about.

I felt my head tilted up and something dropped onto my tongue. The world resumed its normal sharpness and I smirked. I had done it, I had beaten Veritaserum, the strongest truth serum known to man all without an antidote. Harry looked rather passive but I didn't care, I'd won.

"You did it. I'll make the portkey." Harry stated. I just sat there too pleased with myself to care about anything else right now. "I'm making the portkey password activated and it will work for a week in case you want to stay for a while. See your friends or just relax them I don't care but any longer than a week and unless I get a good reason I'm leaving. I'm also ordering Jeevesy not to answer any calls from you until I say otherwise in case they want to integrate him." I nodded in understanding.

"So, when can I go?" I asked. I wanted to learn more with Harry but I knew that it would cause far less trouble if I could see the Weasleys and answer a few of their questions.

"Whenever you want, you can owl them now if you want. You have more you need to learn if you want to stand a chance in what is to come but so long as you don't undo the work we have put in for the last week you might just make it."

One day Harry might even be properly supportive but from him being called not useless is a compliment and in and of itself. I got up and headed back into my room to reply to Hermione and the Weasley family. Hedwig did not look impressed that Pig got to take the letter so I wrote a second letter addressed to Sirius for her to take. That seemed to cheer her up and she left in a much better mood.

I made my way back into the main room. Harry wasn't around so I made my way to his room. He was seated at his desk writing away, his leather notebook beside him. I wasn't sure what he was working on so I knocked on his open door to alert him to my presence.

"Come in." He instructed without looking up from his work. I walked into the room noting the changes since I had been in here the last time, when I had first arrived and he had left to get a take away. The room was mostly the same but there were now a few pictures. I wasn't sure where he had got them as I doubted he had many personal items on him when was pulled into the other world. I made my way over to his bedside cabinet. It was nosy but I wanted to look at the picture that was important enough to be the first thing he saw in the morning. The frame was simple enough and heavy. I turned it around slowly and smiled softly at what I saw. It was Harry, the photo couldn't be too old as Harry looked basically the same. He was leaning against a tree. A pretty blonde girl curled into his side, her head resting on his chest. The both looked completely content in the sun. The girl looked somehow familiar but I didn't know her.

"Who was she?" I asked, waving the photo in his general direction. He turned in his chair, spotting the photo immediately.

"I don't know if was or is." Harry replied.

"Assuming she's from your old world and there are a near infinite number of worlds I think you've already started to accept was." I replied suddenly realising he wasn't just here to help me. He was here to get away from the people who took everything from him and I'd never really considered what he had lost.

"Yeah but was the question who was she, name or the nature of our relationship?" Harry asked.

"Both I guess." I admitted, wondering if he'd give me an answer.

"Considering the way I had to win the war I guess she was the closest thing I had left to a soul. As for her name, well you'll recognise her soon enough."

"I will?"

"You mean you won't be looking for her from now on. Surely she at least looks familiar?" He retorted.

I smiled in reply both of us knowing the answer. I put the photo back in place and perched on the edge of his bed.

"Anyway, I came in here to say I've sent the letter. I told them I'd meet them tomorrow in the Leaky at Lunchtime. That way we don't have to arrange anything other than the portkey." I paused at the look he gave me for that. "You don't have to arrange anything other than the portkey." I corrected myself.

"You should think about how you want to arrive and if you want a disguise. It might be dangerous to go as yourself but if you have a magical disguise it gives away that you've been staying with a witch or wizard. A muggle disguise, or just large sunglasses would probably be fine. If it matches my world, then Voldemort will spend most of this year building strength but if you fall into his hand he won't say no." Harry suggested turning back to whatever he was working on.

They were all good points and I'd probably end up settling with the sunglasses and a floppy hat. Not subtle but I wasn't trying to be. "What are you working on?" I asked.

"I hate Goblins so I'm corresponding via post with them about a few things I want." He replied.

"Why do you hate Goblins?" What a strange thing to hate. Sure, they had a bad reputation but hate was quite strong.

"They hated me first. Goblins hate us, by us I mean wizards. They control our gold purely because it gives them the illusion of control. They get off on power and making us suffer but know that we could wipe them out. They're tickling a dragon and have a track record of trying to fight it. People forget they aren't human they don't think like us. Some try and gain their favour by being polite. They see it as weak and take advantage. Those who are rude receive even slower service. There is no way to win with them so I avoid them. As far as I can tell they appreciate it since they haven't been around to glare at me recently."

"So you don't actually hate them. You resent the fact they hate you." I checked.

"Fine. Now I'm buying things. Go pack an overnight bag or something." Harry replied dismissing me with a wafting hand gesture. I left the room to go have a late breakfast. I got a reply back in the afternoon that they would be happy to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron but there was a note at the end warning me that while it was fine for tomorrow I really shouldn't be out and about in public. Thankfully there was no one in the room for me to demonstrate how dangerous I could be. I hated that they felt I couldn't do anything without their approval. I had been out in muggle London almost every day I had lived at the flat and Diagon Alley once with no trouble. Voldemort might be a vicious murder but he would rather kill himself than be caught out and about in muggle London.

We worked some more on my lying in the afternoon and spent the evening talking about what Harry expected would happen. From what he had learnt from the previous world I would likely be taken to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry couldn't tell me where it was because it was under Fidelus but he knew the Weasleys had stayed there the summer before that Harry's fifth year. Dumbledore would likely want to have a word about wandering off unsupervised but might give her some useful information in an attempt to appease her.

The next morning was quiet. Jeevesy was ordered not to answer my summons until someone said otherwise. Harry passed me the portkey he had created last night. It was a golden shoelace. He had a red one to go with it reasoning that nobody ever would be suspicious of shoelaces in Gryffindor colours. Strange jewelery would attract attention as would odd trinkets that I carried around. The password was set as something that wouldn't be said normally but wasn't going to be too hard to slip into a conversation if needed while I pretended to tie my shoelaces.

The Leaky Cauldron was packed with people when I arrived. In the corner, I was able to spot Mr Weasley sat with Professor Lupin. Regretfully I felt the two men fit into the battered old pun quite well with their old clothing in need of repair. Seeing that I couldn't help but think back to the chat with Harry in here about the relative wealth of the Death Eaters and the Order. If this war was dragged out or if wizards had mercenaries, then Voldemort would win. I made my way up to them taking my hat off as I walked. They were being rather suspicious with nervous glances and a lack of speech from two amicable men. I hoped they were on the lookout for me and the war hadn't already escalated while I sat around the flat. I knew that the I couldn't do anything but sitting around learning felt so useless.

I greeted them with a cheerful "Hi." It was even genuinely cheerful as I did spending time with each of them and I hadn't spoken to anyone other than Harry for the past week and nobody but him and the Dursleys for even longer.

"Rose." Remus replied in a tired tone. While Mr Weasley smiled at me, I got the sense he was actually happy to see me.

"Remus." I replied. "Are we done saying each others names?"

"Hello Rose how are you?" Mr Weasley greeted me.

"I'm fine thank you. I'm having a surprisingly good summer."

"Is that your stuff Rose?" Remus asked point to the bag I'd rested on the bench next to me. I'd stuck a few text books and school robes in it so it was passable for all my school stuff if I bought a new cauldron.

"Yeah. So where and Ron and Hermione, they said they wanted to see me." I wondered if I was pushing the deliberate ignorance a bit too far but it was better that than ask about things there was no way I should know.

Remus looked to Mr Weasley to answer. The genial old man suddenly looked very tired. "They're staying somewhere safe. We'll take you to visit them now if you'd like."

"Please." I allowed myself to be led out into muggle London.

"We can't floo until you've been there before I'm afraid." Explained Remus on the walk. I nodded and smiled politely while Mr Weasley made conversation with Remus and me about the function of power plants which I knew nothing about. It wasn't a short walk but we found ourselves stopping on a slightly run down street.

"Read this." Remus instructed passing me a piece of folded parchment. Reading allowed me to look up and see the large house previously hidden. It was a fantastic piece of magic but really me walking around in a disguise has to be less of a security risk than carrying around the key to their secret base. That's just dumb. They should have had the secret keeper meet me in person out here.

The house was awful, it smelt funny and was filthier than Seamus' sense of humour and Lavender wasn't here to apologise for it. None of that matter though when Sirius emerged from a doorway. I rushed over and hugged the man who was looking much healthier than last time I saw him. Harry might be another copy of me and teaching me how to defeat a dark lord but he would never live in a cave eating rats for me. I had to supress the thought of what Harry would say about that. He would not be impressed it ever came to that.

"Hey." Sirius said his arms around me in a strong hug. It was good to see him somewhere safe, or safe so long as nobody else was wandering around with the secret written down for everybody and anybody to read.

"You look better." I stated truthfully. Somebody had fed this man a few good meals. His skin was no longer stretched over nothing but bone and some colour was back in his checks. A few more months of this and some sunshine and he'd be all fixed.

"I feel better. Now if only I could get out this damn house." Sirius grumbled.

"There's so much wrong with this house but why do you hate it?" I asked.

"This is my house. This is where I grew up, home to the ancient and most noble Black family." Sirius snarled with such distaste I was concerned. We made our way through to what seemed to be a kitchen with a long narrow table down it. Ron and Hermione left from their places when Sirius led me and rushed to me. A short amount of hugging later and we were all say around the table with a Alastor Moody and a young woman who'd been introduced as Tonks who was apparently Sirius' cousin. It was time for my interrogation, not that they were calling it that but it went quiet and the tone shifted.

"We know you haven't been at Privet Drive recently. Where have you been?" Moody asked, his voice gruff.

"I've sightseeing. Don't get many opportunities normally." I answered.

"Rose dear, you know that's dangerous. Why couldn't you have asked one of us to take you?" Mrs Weasley asked. Moody didn't look happy to have the integration be taken over by a housewife.

"In the muggle world nobody knows who I am. If you can't find me when you're looking for me then how is Voldemort when he isn't." I reasoned. "I have safety through complete anonymity."

Tonks nodded approvingly and smiled at me but Moody scowled. "How'd you leave Privet Drive, none of the watchers reported you leaving just that you weren't there?" He growled.

"You were watching me?" I asked shocked. "At all hours. Please tell me that you weren't using that creepy eye while I was in my room getting changed. Lavender was right it should be illegal."

Moody did not look happy with that response. "How did you leave?" He demanded forcefully.

"I'm still creeped out by that eye." I replied deflecting the question. "What is Voldemort up to. I assume that why you're all gathered here for?" It was disappointing to see so many people flinch at the name. If these were the people who would be fighting a secret war against the man then it wasn't promising.

"Rose dear, you shouldn't worry about that." Mrs Weasley interjected. I latched onto it moving the conversation away from my escape-cum-kidnapping.

"Why not. He's going to be after me at some point. It always comes down to me and him."

"You're too young." Mrs Weasley argued "Let us handle it." I had to supress the urge to snort at the idea of Mrs Weasley dealing with Voldemort. I may not yet be much at all but I doubted she was much more. I cared for her, I knew that but I was filtering that out to try and be objective and in doing so I doubted her capabilities.

"She's right Molly. She's always going to get involved. We should tell her what she wants to know so she doesn't just go looking for it." Sirius argued. Causing me to smile warmly at him.

"No I won't allow it. She's too young." Mrs Weasley protested. Moody looked very annoyed the conversation had been so effectively derailed and Tonks was watching the argument amused. Professor Lupin had his head in his hands as if disappointed with what had happened. Ron seemed excited for some reason. Maybe he felt he was closer to learning what was happing than he had been in the weeks he had been living here. Hermione looked disapprovingly at me. I suspect she suspected I had wanted this argument to happen. She'd be wrong I hadn't that being said it was useful.

"You won't allow it? You're not Lily. You are not her mother. I am the closest thing she has left to a parent." Sirius protested a slight growl on his words.

"And you're not very good at it, what with getting yourself arrested and now you're on the run." Mrs Weasley shouted. That was too far. I looked to Sirius to seemed barely in control of his anger. Remus stood.

"Molly that was too much. Apologise."

"I let you stay here in my home. I thank you for being there for Rose when I couldn't but that does not allow you to say that to me in my own home." Sirius spat. His face was set cold. The sort of glare someone might expect from a Black. I could feel the temperature drop from the heated argument to this. If this was Sirius' home then he had every right to throw the Weasleys out.

Mrs Weasley didn't want to back down, that much was clear. Ron's temper and stubbornness clearly came more from her than the rather mild Mr Weasley. She looked to her husband for support but it clear to the room he was reluctant to come to his wife's aid.

"Molly, don't you think that you went a bit far? I'm sure nobody regrets what happened all those years ago more than Sirius and Rose, she's a welcome guest at our home and she is almost family but when it comes right down to it she isn't ours." Mr Weasley said very softly.

"Fine, but Ron is my son and Hermione's parents have entrusted her to me for the summer and they won't be listening. I won't have it." Mrs Weasley stated making her line in the sand.

"What, I'm older than Rose." Ron protested. Hermione looked torn, clearly wanting to be involved but afraid of offending Mrs Weasley.

"No Ronald, you and Hermione will go and join the other children cleaning the house."

"She'll just tell us it all anyway." Ron argued. "Won't you?"

Ron looked to me and I felt slightly guilty. "Probably." It would be good enough for him but gave me wiggle room should I not want to say anything.

"See, so you might as well let us stay."

"No. Even if Rose chooses to share anything with you then it will be after you clean some more." Mrs Weasley argued unhappy that she wasn't getting her way and spitefully making sure that at least she had some semblance of control.

Ron looked angry as he stormed out the kitchen, Hermione rolled her eyes before following him out much more calmly. The door was shut behind them and everyone who had stood during the argument sat again.

"We don't know much." Remus started. "He's keeping quiet. Dumbledore has an idea of what he's after and so we're trying to stop him."

"What's he after?" I asked. Harry had told me Voldemort would likely go after the prophecy looking for an explanation for why I kept surviving him but I wanted to be sure.

"I'm not sure. Its something he didn't have last time. Dumbledore knows what it is thought."

I nodded. That sounded like the prophecy. Its mere existence and his interest in me would be enough for most people to give up and rely on me to solve everything.

"So what are you lot doing?"

"We watch and learn. I'm headed off soon to speak to some of the werewolf packs. Last time Voldemort had a huge number of dark creatures at his disposal and we want to head that off while we can."

"Some of us at the ministry have been watching the comings and goings trying to work out what's happening." Tonks added.

"But it's hard. With Fudge outright denying everything and using the Prophet against you and Dumbledore we can't really spread the word as much as we'd like." Mr Weasley finished.

Basically, they didn't know what was happening, they were guessing and they weren't really having much luck recruiting. I nodded though, I needed to show that I thought they were doing things. If a girl a turning fifteen at the end of the week calls you out, then that can't be good on morale. Heck just stacking the sides against each other favoured the other side by such an insane margin it was hard enough to be cheery. If Harry hadn't already won once I'd think we'd need a miracle to win. Then again if Harry was right about Dumbledore's plan he was relying on a miracle because, really is dying for the wizarding world going to offer the same sort of protection that my mum gave me if that even was what happened?

"Now tell us how you got out of Privet Drive." Instructed Moody. Damn, I'd hoped he'd have been distracted enough to have forgotten.

"Does it even matter?" I asked.

"If you can get past me then yes." Well that explained why he was taking it so personally. How did Harry get past him was the question? If I had to guess he would have confounded Moody, it's essentially his favourite spell.

"Look clearly I snuck past you. Maybe I just got lucky and you were on a bathroom break." Moody sat back slightly and I could swear I detected some redness to what was left of his battered face. Maybe Harry had hit him with the same compulsion he'd got me with the other morning. I had to suppress a smile since I couldn't let him suspect I knew or had any part in it.

"Dumbledore has said you can stay here until the weekend then you have to spend at least a fortnight with your relatives before you can come back here for the rest of summer. Something about renewing the protection." Moody growled.

"I'll go back to Privet Drive." I relented. They weren't Slytherins so they never noticed I didn't agree to stay there. In fact, going gave me the perfect opportunity to use the portkey unmonitored meaning I could use it another time if needed.

I looked around the room and the adults all seemed relieved at that.

"Go see your friends." Sirius instructed. "We'll catch up later."

I got up and left the room. Nobody had told me where to find my friends but they didn't need to. The moment I stepped out the Kitchen they were there along with the twins and Ginny. I was quickly introduced to the twin's latest creation the extendable ear. Turns out they knew a lot more about the Order than the Order thought they did but they still knew very little seeing as the Order knew little.

The house, number 12 Grimmauld Place was horrid. There was a reason Mrs Weasley had wanted them cleaning. It seemed the house elf had taken their presence as a personal insult and under orders from a portrait of Sirius' insane mother had let the house fall into disrepair in order to spite Sirius. Mrs Weasley had them working on excavating the house from the dirt and grime room by room.

I quickly learnt that the plan had originally been for me to alone until the last fortnight of the holidays and Dumbledore had asked everyone not to write for me as I would be going through a difficult time after the tournament and it would be best not to bother me or annoy my Uncle. I wasn't pleased with plan. It showed Dumbledore didn't understand me and I was more annoyed that Ron and Hermione would have spent the whole summer with my godfather and each other while I was left to rot in Surrey. What was worse was neither of them saw the problem with this.

The next few days were nice, not great not boring just nice. I was still annoyed at Ron and Hermione but they were still my friends. The Order had been surprisingly forgiving about me wandering off and after the first day it hadn't been brought up again. Most of the day was spent with Hermione and the Weasleys doing battle against the house and in the evening I would sit with Sirius and listen to stories of his misadventures at Hogwarts with my father. It wasn't long though before I was being shipped off to Surrey.

Remus was the one taking me as the last thing he did before he left to see the werewolves. Sirius had wanted to come but wasn't allowed even as Padfoot. It was unknown how many people Wormtail had told about Sirius' hairier form.

The Dursley's were not happy to see me. They couldn't remember the details of me leaving but were happier with me gone. It took the best part of five minutes from getting through the door to activating the portkey and arriving around the corner from the Leaky Cauldron. With Diagon Alley and a floo connection it was a brilliant place to arrive near as almost any wizard tracing my portkey would assume I'd disappeared into the magical world and with the floo I could be anywhere in the country within minutes.

The walk to the flat was quiet. In the muggle world nobody stopped and stared so it was a pleasant walk. Living in a magically hidden flat meant neither Harry nor I ever bothered to lock the door so I marched straight in and dropped down on my sofa head in hands as I leant back in and sighed in relief. It was good to be back. About ten seconds later I realised I wasn't alone. There was something leggy, blonde and decidedly French draped across the other sofa. I hadn't seen her as the back of the sofa blocked my view from the front door but I was sure I had a fellow Tri-Wizard competitor in the flat.

"Fleur?" I asked. The other girl sat up looking slightly dazed until she looked at me and smiled excitedly.

"Rose?" I nodded in confirmation. "It iz good to see you."

"Its good to see you too. I hear you're working at Gringotts?" I had heard, Ron's brother Bill had recently moved back to Britain to join the Order and had seen her around. Ron had said that Bill was going to ask her out soon under the guise of English lessons. Apparently, she wanted help clearing up her accent. Fleur had looked approvingly at him when he had visited me before the third task.

"Oui, I wanted to work in Britain for a while." She explained. " 'Ow do you know 'Arry?"

"Technically I guess he's family but I've only known about him for the summer." I replied wondering how to explain it to an outsider. I'd never really had to consider it too much, or avoided thinking about it. He was another possible version of me.

"Oh, interesting. Are you staying 'ere for ze summer?" Fleur asked.

"Yeah. Normally I have to stay with my mum's sister and her family but when this became an option I leapt at it. How do you know Harry?"

Fleur looked excited to talk about it so I shuffled took my shoes of and swung my feet onto the sofa.

"'E wanted to do some business wiz Gringotts and sent in a letter. One of my bosses passed on to me to deal with. I was unsure exactly what 'e wanted so I requested a business meeting. We ended up going for lunch. 'E apparated uz to ze continent so we could 'ave better food." Fleur stated with a huge grin. "'E is a man of fine taste. We talked business then we spoke about the tournament. 'E 'ad an interesting perspective. We are lucky 'e 'ad graduated. I zink if 'e 'ad been in ze tournament 'e would 'ave won. He iz clever and powerful."

"That sounds nice." I replied with a smile. She was happy and that smile was infections. She was almost glowing, then again that might have been her stupid perfect veela skin. "Yeah I think he would have torn us apart if he'd been in the tournament." Knowing full well he had torn her apart when had competed in his world, provided he had been telling the truth.

"Oui, 'e is talented. 'E also knows much about rare magic. Now 'e iz looking for a book zat he says has a revulsion encharntment that 'e can cast on my clothes and if 'e gets the strength right it will stop everyone staring at me. You of all people understand 'ow annoying zat can be, oui?"

I nodded. At Hogwarts I had thought she liked the attention but then again we never spoke other than when she thanked me for saving her sister in the second task. I always assumed she entered the tournament for the eternal glory and money but maybe there was more to Fleur Delacour.

"I hate it." I confirmed.

"I entered ze tournament hoping to prove I am more zan just a pretty face. What does losing to you make me?"

I wasn't sure if she meant it to be as insulting as it sounded. I think she was worried that losing would confirm that she was nothing more than a pretty face. It felt strange hearing her worry when Hermione had accused her repeatedly of being just that. Especially when Ron was staring at her.

"You were the Beauxbatons champion. According to the Goblet you were the most powerful, most intelligent witch they had to offer." I offered trying to support her.

"Oui but if you knew the ozer students you'd know zat means little." Fleur replied with a smile. It was at that moment with a loud crack Harry apparated into the room an old looking book tucked under his arm.

"You're back." He stated. "I take it you've met Fleur?"

"Yep. We've been chatting away since you're such a poor host."

"She wanted a nap. You were probably bothering her." He countered. Fleur wisely chose not to comment leaving us to glare playfully.

"Your book." Harry added offering the text to Fleur. She took it in her elegant hands and stood.

"I was 'oping zat you might be free to give me some English lessons to 'elp wiz my accent." Fleur asked as Harry escorted her to the door.

"Anytime. Feel free to swing by, you don't need to wait for an invitation." Harry replied before they said their goodbyes and the French girl left. Harry called Jeevesy and rescinded his order about answering me and had the elf make us some tea. We sat in silence neither feeling the need to talk while we drank.

"So Fleur?" I threw out there.

"A delightful young woman." Harry replied looking slightly smug.

"Bill Weasley was going to ask her out."

"I might have to go into Gringotts soon then and bring her lunch."

"I thought you liked Bill."

"He's my favourite Weasley." Harry explained.

"Anyway, what about photo girl?" I asked. "Aren't you going to get back together with her?"

Harry grimaced. "She was my age, meaning she's your age. I'm turning nineteen in a few weeks. A four-year age difference isn't one I'd be comfortable with until I'm mid-twenties not to mention she's not the same girl. We were friends for years, grew up around each other so she won't be the same. I have to go on as if she is dead, heck for all I know that portal that pulled me through destroyed everything nearby and she was killed."

I felt a bit bad about asking. It seemed to be a sensitive subject which was understandable. I looked around our flat looking for something to move the conversation on. Nothing came to mind, our flat needed more stuff.

"How are you even doing business with Fleur, you don't have a job?" I enquired.

"I took dead Harry's stuff. I wasn't talking about just his wand and cloak. I raided his vault, his godfather had just died as well so he had inherited the last of the Black fortune to. It was the last thing I grabbed before I performed the ritual. Sitting in a new vault are six magically expanded trunks full of gold and jewels. There is also a seventh that has been put someplace else as an emergency fund."

That was interesting. I had wondered why he was so loose with his money.

"Will you tell me what you're buying?" I asked.

"I will." Harry responded, smirking at me.

"What did you buy?"

"I've been looking for something a bit grander than the flat. It makes a good bolt hole but it's not a home, I got this because it was there when I needed it. I've also been shipping in some rare potions ingredients through the goblins because they don't have the same taxes or restrictions nor do they tell the ministry what I'm buying. I've also been buying large amounts of medicinal potions. War can always be profited from and if I'm selling stuff both sides want then I can make plenty."

"You're going to be helping the Death Eaters!" I complained.

"They can by this stuff anywhere only once the war starts the prices will rise. I'm getting in early so I can be the one to profit off it. It's not like I'm providing something that they can't get elsewhere." Harry reasoned.

I scowled but said no more. We chatted about my stay with the Order over dinner and Harry was not impressed that Remus had carried the secret with him across London. Harry agreed with me that the thing Voldemort was after was the prophecy. It was nice, I thought that night as I drifted off to sleep, to be back in my own bed in my own room.

The next morning I was excited to be learning more, after a few days of a cleaning having the stinking headache that often came from legilimency seemed like a distant memory. Harry was keen to do something other than the mind arts though. Before he taught me the trick he and Dumbledore had developed together he wanted the bit of Voldemort out of me. I also wanted it gone so I wasn't protesting.

The next week was split between preparing for one of the darkest pieces of magic known to man and more legilimency practice. Fleur was out of the country for the week on business for Gringotts and we wanted this finished before she took up Harry's open invitation. I spent some of my free time running through the girls in my year trying to work out who photo girl was but was becoming increasingly aware how much I'd shied away from the rest of the student body.

On the Thursday night we headed outside. Harry apparated us up to Hogsmeade from there we snuck out into the forbidden forest. The place we deemed it was most likely nobody would notice the foulness of the magic we were about to perform. Harry lit a series of torches in a circle to give me light before removing the artefact we'd chosen to place the soul piece in. We'd spoken about putting in a animal that it could possibly possess and use legilimency on that but the risk was too great that Voldemort himself would notice and use the connection to strike back. The artefact we were using was a simple shield. The trophy type with that you get engraved. Harry had magically engraved it earlier to read: Tom Riddle, soul piece number seven, created Halloween 81. Formerly of Rosaline Potter's scar. It was crude but we planned on using that when we met with Dumbledore. If he could be convinced it was the real thing, then he might be a far more helpful ally as the plan would no longer revolve around me dying.

Harry had to leave for the actual ritual but was waiting just outside the grove we'd set up. He'd be back to get me home if I collapsed and to stop any acromantulas interfering. Now I was alone I could feel the nerves in every part of me but it was too late now. I began to chant. I wasn't sure what language this was, it sounded guttural and harsh but Harry had me learn it phonetically. My wand was out although tonight I was using Harry's wand which though the same as mine didn't have the trace on it meaning I could perform underage magic. The chanting continued escalating in volume, the sounds echoing through the night. A the peak I pointed the want at my chest and cast the spell. A spell that would get me sent straight to Azkaban. My eyes rolled as my vision went faint. I could feel my soul, I could feel it smooth and whole, I could feel the shard of Voldemort like a jagged splinter trying to worm its way into mine. I directed the magic to the shard and tore. Agonising pain tore through me but I could feel the fragment move. I tore harder, I accepted the pain, I had been held under Voldemort's cruciatius, I could do this. The fragment came free and my sight returned to normal. At the end of the wand was a swirling black orb with tentacles reaching out. I began the second chant as I pushed the orb against the surface of the shield. We'd done the preparation of the shield in advance so it went in easily. I slumped, exhausted to my knees. The shield now giving off a cold aura that made me feel sick just being near it. I reached into my pocket and removed the acromantula silk blanket which I tossed over the shield reducing its influence.

Harry came and collected me. He basically had to drag me back to the apparition point with the shield locked away in a box further reducing its aura tucked under the arm that wasn't supporting me. We apparated straight into our flat and I went to my room kicking off my shoes and tossing my clothes into a corner I climbed into bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I woke the next morning feeling more refreshed than ever, somehow lighter, like a load of my shoulders. Somehow my thoughts seemed clearer as if I'd had a cold clear up. I almost skipped into the living room up at a much earlier hour than normal. Harry's door was open but there was no sign of him. I assumed he was off on his morning walk. Jeevesy popped into the room to prepare my morning tea. With the way I was feeling I couldn't help but smile at the little elf. Normally I trudged around in the morning until Harry gave me something to do but today I felt the need to do something to burn off this new energy I had. I ended up curled in a ball reading the defence textbook from last year. It wasn't exactly riveting but I found myself thinking more clearly than before and realising that I'd done little more than skimmed the book meaning I had missed some of the useful tips.

Harry found me there an hour later completely absorbed when he returned from his walk. I still wasn't sure where he went but he had previously explained it calmed him and allowed him to prepare for the day.

"How do you feel?" He asked as he sat down and Jeevesy handed us each a plate loaded with food.

"Better." I answered simply. I wasn't sure how to describe it, just everything was better, clearer and lighter.

"Like a haze has been lifted?"

"Yep." I confirmed.

"It was the same to me. Some stuff came easier to me after that. I'm mostly calmer and I can concentrate for longer than before. Now you have no excuse to not live up to the academic record of our parents. I mean I'm you and if I could be top of the year you can. After breakfast, we'll start cheating on your school anyway."

Cheating as it turned out was a form of directed legilimancy. Memories contain a lot of information but it often is only viewed which doesn't provide information to the other senses. The person who's memories are being shown can add details like thoughts and feelings. Memories deteriorate with age which is why people like Dumbledore tend to make copies of all important memories. Harry had made copies of a lot of his memories and had inherited Dumbledore's pensive after the elder wizard had died in his world. Pensives are incredibly rare and valuable so Harry had taken to carrying it around in an expanded mokeskin pouch around his neck and thus was one of the few things kept with him when he had swapped dimension. Using the pensive refreshed the clarity of the memory in your mind. This meant that extra detail could be added when the legilimens saw the memory first person.

It gave me a stinking headache but I viewed memory after memory of Harry casting spells. It seemed dumb but he could add how it felt to cast the spell. I was able to feel everything as if the memory was my own, the wand movements, the intent were all now in my memory meaning I could practice and get the spell in a few minutes. It only worked in conjunction with the pensive to refresh the memory and a willing participant because it was too hard for a legilimens to get all those details by themselves.

After lunch Harry was going to teach me potions. Namely how to brew an adequate head-ache relieving potion which would allow us to teach me even quicker. Harry transfigured the other sofa into a plan surface with a marble top. From his room he reclaimed two cauldrons. He had to remove them one at a time since he told me to grab mine which, upon seeing it, ordered Jeevesy to throw away and went to fetch his spare muttering about contamination or something. It turns out my hatred of Snape had slipped into all things potions so I hadn't taken care of my equipment.

Making the potion with Harry was very different to with Snape although he had the same cold look of disapproval on his face. He regularly stepped in and stopped me though. Today I learnt that there is a difference between slicing and dicing. Tearing and shredding were apparently different as well, as were the quantities a splash and a dash.

After the first half an hour Harry gave up on me. Transfigured my face threw some coins at me at sent me off to buy a book on terminology and a set of measuring devices coated in an inert metal. Ideally platinum or gold. Harry said gold was tacky though. I scoffed at the idea of gold being tacky but he told me to wait and see. I was not however, to buy silver, no matter how similar to platinum it looked it was far less inert apparently.

The apothecary stocked everything I was after thankfully and while I winced at the price for all the platinum equipment I handed over the money. It wasn't even mine so I went for the more expensive stuff. I felt guilty spending over ten times what the entire Weasley family spend in my second year when I was shopping with them but Harry and I had the money to spare.

Arriving back at the flat I was sent to my room like a naughty child to read my book on preparation techniques. The book was long and dry but it was full of information and drawings on every action. It taught me more about potions that Snape did in years. I asked Harry about it at dinner that night he told me that Snape was a potions prodigy who doesn't understand why everyone isn't. Snape would have spent hours researching potions in the library and fails to comprehend that not everyone does. Free time is to learn about potions as class time should be the time to practice making the potions. All Slytherins are given a copy of the syllabus so they can read ahead and prepare for the class. It made a lot of sense that way. Although we always complained about the amount of work at Hogwarts we had we have plenty of free time and very little practical time so it did maximise brewing time which we were always warned against practicing without a member of staff present.

After dinner Harry set me working on strange potion that served no purpose except potions practice. It was created using every common technique and had different but bold colours at each stage meaning if I got it right or wrong. It wasn't simple because it tested so many things but it wasn't one that needed excessive stirring or rest time.

As I worked Harry brought over a strangely pale cup of tea, I looked questioningly at him but he shrugged. I'd been working with a fire for the last hour so the liquid was welcome. It was disgusting, I spat it out. It was vile.

"The hell is wrong with that?" I shouted. I had been gritty, acidic and wrong on so many levels.

"It hurt me to do it, to ruin the sacred substance but I couldn't think of a better way to make my point." Harry explained.

"Its rough." I was not happy, as valid as his point was.

"I rushed it, the water wasn't boiling when I added the tea and I took it out after a few seconds and I didn't stir so it didn't mix properly. I added a dash of milk not a splash and didn't wash to spoon after keeping it a pot of vinegar, oh and I didn't wash the mug after crushing some newt's eyes in there."

"Why did you have the spoon in vinegar?"

"To make a point?"

"Fine." I spat. "Jeevesy." I called trying to get another cup of tea, drinkable this time. The earnest little elf took away the mug of vileness and left to get me a better mug. I turned back to my potion which was a lime green right now.

"Will you start cleaning your equipment?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Will you use proper measurements"

"Yes." I replied again.

"And will you take your time and do things properly?" Harry asked smirking.

"Yes." I ground out.

"Good good." Harry stated. "Fleur gets back tonight. I plan on visiting her tomorrow because I doubt she'll have the energy to get real food after all the travelling she's done. So you'll be on your own, I'm going to write down the instructions to a potion I'll expect you to have brewed by the time you get back. Practice with the practice potion again before you try since some of the ingredients are expensive so don't screw it up."

"Its like being back at the Dursley's." I complained but I smiled because it was so very different and we both knew it. It was almost certain that whatever this potion was would help me in some way.

"Goodnight." Harry called over his shoulder as he left for his bedroom leaving me with a final couple of stages of my potion. I went to bed shortly after finishing. My colour was slightly off but indicated I'd only got the final step wrong, considering I'd yawned and spilt the salamander blood I was quite happy with being that close. Potions it turns out are not hard if you actually do what you're told. I just never knew what that was. Potions theory was still beyond me, the whys of stirring and the reason behind each ingredient but I was pleased with what I had.

The next day I got up once again revelling in the feeling of energy and lightness that came with the removal of the soul shard. Harry had already left to visit his French floozy who wasn't a floozy at all and I thought might actually be quite nice. The sofa was still transfigured and on it was a scroll of parchment and a set of vials and jars. I knew Jeevesy would have my breakfast ready for me in about half an hour so I had plenty of time to check the instructions. The potion was tricky but none of the ingredients spoilt so I could prepare everything in advance and add stage by stage. This was highly recommended by the book I got the day before, although maybe calling it a book was generous. It was a large booklet covering preparation techniques and general tips.

Harry wanted me to practice the other potion again so after breakfast I did. This time it was flawless, maybe not medicinal grade but an O in school. By lunchtime I was well into the second potion. I'd cleaned all the surfaces and wiped down all my tools before and after everything to prevent contamination and things were going well. The clearer head and lack of Snape had brought back the interest in potions I'd had before my first potions lesson where I thought it would be amongst my favourite subjects. The potion was nearly ruined though when an owl caught me by surprise, hooting from just behind me. I flinched but managed not to pause in my counter clockwise movement. Jeevesy had to relieve the owl of its letter and read it to me since I was too busy with the potion which seemed to be in a volatile stage going by all the bubbles and pops. It seemed the Order were less than impressed I had elected not to stay at le hotel Dursley. They called me irresponsible and all kind of other things but I didn't care. In the three weeks, it had been since I'd moved in with Harry I was now proficient if not fantastic with the mind arts, I had removed a piece of Voldemort's soul and was now learning spells faster than I had ever believed possible. Speaking of which I thought I'd try another go at the head-ache reliever potion after I finished this.

I had three weeks left of the holiday and the order were not going to ruin this for me. I didn't want to reply and I was even reluctant to send Hedwig to Sirius in case they kept her as motivation. She would still like some flights so I should write to Neville or Lavender, anyone not in the order. The potion Harry had asked me for was now finished and I'd decanted it into a crystal vase while I scrubbed out the caldron ready to have another crack at the head-ache relief potion.

Harry returned mid-afternoon with Fleur and immediately went to inspect the potion I'd brewed. Fleur came over and smiled politely.

"This ought to do." Harry declared holding the potion up to the light.

"What does it even do?" I asked. I felt I deserved to know having spent half the day brewing it.

"Put your wand in it. Leave it half an hour, remove the wand and drink the left overs." He instructed. That sounded stupid but I sighed and dropped my wand into the potion wondering quite when the magical world would stop being so strange.

"'Ello Rose." Fleur greeted me.

"Hi Fleur, how was all the travelling?" I asked absently while my mind wondered what that potion was going to taste like.

"Oh it was superb. Zere are some places that were so beautiful. I am 'appy to be back 'owever. I was very tired last night."

"Fleur could you wait here a moment?" Harry interjected.

"Oui." She replied and he walked briskly into his room leaving me alone with the French witch. "what are you brewing?" She asked.

"Head-ache relief." I replied. "Hopefully Harry will be happier with this batch. He basically called me incompetent yesterday and sent me away to learn more."

Fleur nodded. "If you want any 'elp just ask. I did well on my exams." She said throwing her elegant mane of platinum hair back effortlessly. I couldn't help but bite back a small amount of envy at how well behaved her hair was, hell she was perfect for all intents and purposes but her hair was what I was most envious of, mine never behaved that well.

"Thank you. Do you know why potions work the way they do. Harry seems very good at making them but hasn't bothered to learn why certain ingredients are used?" I asked.

"I know a bit." Fleur established. "Can you read French? I have good book on it."

I shook my head reluctantly. I sometimes felt bad that almost all of Beauxbatons spoke English and most Durmstrang students were well on the way to becoming polyglots and I'd never bothered to learn another language.

"I can help a bit. For example, zis potion, the relief comes from ze crushed lavender. It iz a natural sedative. Ze frog brains tell ze potion where to act. I shall see if I can find you a copy of ze book in English, it would be better zan me." Fleur explained.

I smiled at the girl who was clearly making an effort. I felt that if she was around a lot over the next few weeks we could become good friends.

"Here." Declared Harry triumphantly walking forward with an open book. "The perception altering charm."

Fleur took the book and read the page. I kept quiet as her face lit up.

"Why if I 'ad not 'ad breakfast in bed zis morning I would zink you were trying to get rid of me." Fleur smirked.

Harry just looked too smug to care. "I have a caveat though, I want to be keyed into it."

"What's happening?" I interjected as they stated staring intently at each other.

"'Arry 'as found a charm which alters perception, so I cast it and people do not 'ear my accent. 'Arry it seems likes my accent so wants to keep 'earing it even after I cast the charm." Fleur explained.

"It also means she won't need English lessons and I'll have to ask her out on proper dates." Harry added.

"Will it work?" I asked. It sounded advanced.

"We shall see." Fleur stated before looking down to the book and casting the rather lengthy incantation.

"Why do you need to be keyed in, couldn't you just filter through the charm?" I asked Harry as Fleur waved her wand at her throat.

"I could but I'd have to concentrate slightly all the time which is a nuisance when I plan to spend a lot of time with her.

"Has it worked?" Fleur asked in an accent not out of place on the cricket pitches of England.

"It has." I answered with a smile lighting the beautiful girl up. She jumped to her feet and hugged Harry

"With this and the revulsion enchantment on my clothes I will blend in like a normal employee. Everything I earn I shall have earnt not been given by men trying to impress me."

"Well leave it off Monday." Harry instructed.

"Why?" Fleur asked. I looked at Harry too in confusion.

"I wanted to come bring you lunch at work tomorrow. I just wanted to see everyone else's faces. Those pathetic cretins who think that Fleur Delacour is nothing more than the prettiest prize to be won." Harry explained.

"So you want to treat her like a prize you've won?" I asked smirking.

"Exactly. I like winning." Harry stated as he held Fleur.

"Fine, but I want a better commission of the house purchase." Fleur negotiated.

"Selling yourself to the highest bidder Fleur, how could you?" Harry countered.

"Well when he has such pretty green eyes and is as clever as me its hard not to." Fleur answered. I started to feel uncomfortable with how intently they were staring at each other.

"Right, I'm going to go read in my room for a bit. Give me a shout when Jeevesy had food ready." I interjected, grabbed the potion with my wand in and fled the room not wanting to see where those stares led. In my room I removed my wand from the strange potion and drank it. It was worse than some of the ones madam Pomfrey had given me over the years and is crawled down my throat. I should probably have asked what it was before I drank it but Harry got distracted by the pretty French girl. Summed up my last year at Hogwarts really. Fleur was distracting.

Dinner was a few hours later and Fleur was still there. I'm willing to admit I was giddy enough to do a small dance when Harry told me the potion I'd brewed was a restricted cleansing potion that was originally designed to remove any form of tracking but was banned when it was found to remove the trace, the method through which the Ministry of Magic tracks underage magic. I could do magic for the last three weeks of the holidays and next summer. I was surprised Harry came out and said it in front of Fleur but she didn't seem to care. Apparently, in France underage magic was a matter for parents to deal with and not legally enforced. The only condition was breaches of the Statue of Secrecy was dealt with far more harshly if the perpetrator was underage.

Over Dinner and wine we chatted about Gringotts, life in France, Fleur's sister Gabrielle and other light topics. It was strange for me just to chat. With Hermione, she always wanted to talk school, or about a book she read. Ron preferred to talk about quidditch or moan about Slytherins. We would spend hours predicting how poorly divination would go or how the defence teacher each year would try to kill me. Sometime we chatted about why Snape hated me so much but this might be the first time that I've just sat and chatted for the sake of chatting. Even when I was staying at the Burrow I tended to let others talk while I kept quiet, a side effect of growing up at Privet Drive I'm sure. I went to bed that night smiling and happy with a new friend.

Strolling into the flat the next morning I was surprised to see Fleur sat reading a book with a coffee in hand in a set of pyjama bottoms and a Slytherin quidditch jersey.

"Good morning."

"Good morning to you." Fleur replied.

"When do you have to be in work?" I asked, wondering what the time was.

"Soon, I have to visit my flat to get dressed anyway, I drank too much wine last night to apparate so Harry let me stay here." Fleur answered putting the book down. "What are you planning for today, more potions?"

I wondered for a moment about the sleeping arrangement last night before snapping back to attention realising Fleur had asked me a question.

"I don't know. Either Harry has some master plan for my summer education or he's making it up as he goes along so I'll wait until he tells me. I take it he's out on his morning walk?" I responded taking a mug of tea from Jeevesy and quietly thanking him.

"Oui, he said he'd be back soon. Hopefully before I have to leave." Fleur stated. "Have you cast any spells yet?"

I whipped out my wand having completely forgotten that I could now cast spells without worrying about the ministry. I knew I wanted to take advantage of it but now I was there holding my wand I wasn't sure what to do. All the spells, which to cast just for the sake of it?

"If I may, transfiguration often is the best for a visual demonstration. Charms however are often more practical." Fleur offered.

I nodded, rolling my wand between my palms loving the warmth it gave me. What would be my first piece of magic, practical or visually impressive? Fleur seemed to understand how big this was to me judging by the indulgent smile on her face. Magic was a part of our identities, I was a witch, I was educated as a witch, without muggle I was a poorly educated stick carrying muggle. Every summer I ceased being a witch, I stopped being me.

"Expecto Patronum." I whispered. A huge stag coalesced in front of me born from a silver light of happiness and joy. No spell seemed to be more identity based that the patronus.

"That is very impressive." Fleur stated seemingly in awe as the stag wandered over to her to inspect her. "You are a powerful and talented witch. I'm sorry about how I acted at the start of the tournament."

I was shocked that she even felt the need to apologise. She was a real contestant whereas I had been entered against my will. With my name, I stole all of the attention of course she was right to feel put out. No, that wasn't Fleur she hated attention as much as me. She had entered to prove herself, she was apologising for dismissing me, for judging me the same way others judged us both. I couldn't help but feel a certain kinship with the French with.

"There's nothing to forgive. Do you remember when you first found out I was in the tournament. You asked who wouldn't want enteral fame and glory? I thought that's why you were entering. For the Glory."

"I was. I was entering to see Fleur Delacour pronounced the greatest witch. I wanted that glory but not for the attention more so everyone knew I was the best." Fleur said before checking a thin delicate watch. "I have to be off. I hope to see you soon. Remind Harry that he wanted to come visit me at lunch and I shall be most disappointed if he doesn't show."

Fleur stood putting down the now empty coffee mug, smile and disappeared with a crack. With little else to do I picked up the book she left. It was a book on animation and transfiguration, far too advanced for me so I put it down. A minute or two later Harry walked through the door having missed Fleur by about five minutes.

"Hey." He greeted me as he sat in his usual armchair and opened his newpaper.

"You just missed her." I told him.

"I hadn't asked." He retorted.

"You were going to." I countered.

"Or I can use my eyes and see she has already left." Harry stated smug.

"So, Fleur stayed over last night." I pointed out.

"Indeed she did. Now Get your mind out of the gutter, nothing happened."

I maturely stuck my tongue out at him causing him to roll his eyes.

"Plan for today?" I asked wondering what he would teach me.

"We've got another week before the Hogwarts letters are due I think. I want to meet Dumbledore before that and I don't want to do that until you've learnt my trifecta."

"Your trifecta?"

"The death eaters have the three unforgivable. If they don't want someone dead but a message sent they have the cruciatias, killing has the killing curse and the imperio is useful when people aren't doing what they are told. Now I don't like killing when I can avoid it, that being said, this is going to be a war you won't always be able to avoid it."

"So you want me to learn the unforgivables?" I asked, shocked.

"Don't be silly. My trifecta is far more versatile and useful. The confundus charm, compulsions, and the memory charm. Magic is a scary thing but most people never realise how very scary. You think the killing curse is scary, muggle bombs can kill millions in the blink of an eye. No what's scary is I can obliviate everything that gives a person their identity and compel them into being a new person. I never pick a fight I won't win, one time I had enough time to set up the battlefield with area of effect compulsion to help me. Ineffective against anyone determined to hurt me but passers-by would help as would death eaters when you obliviate them of their orders or confound them into thinking they're there to help me. Or simply that the guys in masks are the bad guys. Who needs to kill someone when you can pick and choose which bits to them to keep, I can make a whole new person. That's terrifying. It's not even illegal."

Yep that is right up there with zombies, giant man eating spiders, immortal soul sucking demons and the thought that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had to do certain stuff to make Dudley as truly sickeningly scary. Once again I mentally thanked Harry for teaching me about the mind arts. I knew that it basically rendered immune to the confundus and compulsions and that there were ways to limit what obliviation could do. I once again wondered if everyone would learn the mind arts if they could. I still couldn't throw off compulsions completely but I had only been learning for a few weeks albeit with practice everyday which is likely more than Harry got when he learnt. From the sounds of it he got an hour at time once a week. I was therefore getting more practice in a day than he had in a month. I'd spent maybe fifty hours on it so far which was the equivalent of about a years' worth of one hour sessions once a week. Sure, he had study time but a lot of what we did required two people.

"How we doing this?" I asked suspecting through legilimency.

"How's that head-ache relief potion?" He asked confirming to me what we were going to do. I went to fetch a couple of vials that I had brewed last night while he extracted the pensive from the pouch around his neck. Yesterday I'd been confused how he'd fitted a large stone bowl into the pouch but he simply replied magic which I guess did explain everything. Strange world we live in.

I waited while Harry descended into the pensive to refresh the memories. I wondered what I was going to see, some of the stories he'd told he through around those spells rather freely.

"Legilimens." I whispered as he emerged, looking through his eyes into his mind. I allowed myself to be led to a memory of Harry casting the confundus. I made sure to concentrate of thinking what he was thinking, to feeling what he was feeling. It took a few goes but I felt ready to cast it. Harry suggested some muggle baiting, just making them forget about walking round lamp posts and the like but I had some standards. I instead repeatedly cast it at Harry, he could tell when it had been used even if it wasn't effective against him.

Harry left shortly after we were happy to go have lunch with Fleur leaving me to my own devices. I wasn't sure how to spend the time and didn't feel like doing more brewing. Instead I got out my transfiguration textbook and tried to use it to understand the book Fleur had been reading a bit more.

Harry returned looking extremely smug at around two in the afternoon. The reason, Bill Weasley had been turned down by Fleur and Harry had winked at him when he arrived for his lunch date with the veela.

"This means we can meet Dumbledore soon." Harry explained.

"What? How?" I asked very confused.

"Dumbledore like most people out of school realise the world is nasty place. Now some people accept that and play the game. Dumbledore wishes the world was a good place. He constantly searches for evidence that we aren't all evil. He wants to live in a world where good beats evil, there is always justice and true love overcomes all. Now Bill will go back to the Order and moan about me, he'll probably describe me and soon enough Dumbledore will hear about someone hanging out with Fleur Delacour. He'll be curious as he won't recognise me even if he looks at Bill's memories. He might assume I'm French but either way he'll want me and Fleur to be in love because in his world evil cannot love. He'll know I'm something special if Fleur is dating me and when Bill reports that I've cleared up her accent in a week the Dumbledore will want to know more about me. He might try and recruit Fleur and I."

"I thought you liked Bill?" I asked.

"I respect his skills and he was my favourite Weasley." Corrected Harry. "Like as in a friend, didn't know him well enough."

"Still, why are you being such a dick to him?" I pushed.

"What do you want me to say. I want his attention and through him the orders. I'm using Fleur towards that while also enjoying some wonderful company."

"I like Fleur, don't use her in your games." I urged.

"I'll use her in my games. She will use me as a wall against unwanted attention, the whole time we are together we are using each other. One of the big things that we use each other for is to make ourselves happy. If making her happy makes me happy then that's sounds like a good relationship." Harry explained.

"You have a twisted idea of what a relationship should be." I muttered.

"I had a very happy relationship that was taken from me. Its hard not to have a sour edge on a new one. Heck when Fleur was asleep last night I spent half the night with my photo, you know the one. Was I betraying her, we were torn apart we never ended, is she out there waiting for me to come back? Is she alive. I like Fleur she's different to what I had before but that's good I can move on." Harry spat, tearing loose with what I suspected was weeks of pent up anger.

"I was just saying." I tried.

"You were wrong." Harry shouted. "Now let's stop talking about this. I'm happy with Fleur even if it's not what I wanted a month or two ago. I have to adapt to survive and this is just adapting."

"Fine, fine." I conceded not wanting to get into a full blown argument with him.

"Next spell." Harry stated pulling out the pensive and a memory vial. "You should start keeping a copy of your fresh memories. Secure them with a fidalus or nasty curse, parseltounge password too or else all the Occulmency in the world won't help you if they have access to a pensive and while they are rare and super expensive we are going up against the old, extremely rich families. Exactly the sort of people who could get one."

The rest of the week progressed in much the same manner. Learning spells and Harry occasionally seeing Fleur. She came by the flat a few times to give me someone to talk to. The Order sent a few more letters but Harry had Jeevesy intercept and screen all out post before it came near the flat so they were never able to get the address. We would however have to speak to Dumbledore before the Hogwarts letters went out as they used very old magic that Harry didn't understand and all someone would have to do is look at the envelope and they were found. Fleur had bought a translation of the book on potions ingredients for me for which I was very pleased. It was classified as a herbology textbook but it was potions focused and educational. Harry scoffed when he saw it, claiming I didn't need it for my exams but it made me happy and I finally felt I was understanding the subject. By the weekend, I had mastered Harry's trifecta and was working my way through a list of useful spells he and Fleur had drawn up.

Harry had heard through Fleur that Bill had been asking about him so Harry had declared that Monday lunchtime would be a good time to see Dumbledore. Harry borrowed Hedwig to tell Aberforth who agreed that Monday lunch would be fine, his pub didn't pick up till the sun went down.

Monday lunchtime found Harry, myself and Aberforth sneaking into the castle under our invisibility cloaks. Harry and Aberforth seemed to think it would be fantastic to surprise the Headmaster in his own office. Personally I thought they were idiots, it would be very easy for Dumbledore to take it as an assassination attempt and lash out.

We managed to get to the Gargoyle without any trouble before it took ten more minutes to guess Freddo. We all snuck into the Headmaster's office and sat down while he finished some paperwork.

"Damn, I forgot to turn off the alert charm on the stairs." Harry announced loudly.

"Indeed you did." Albus Dumbledore confirmed. "Hello Abe, Rose and Harry. I'm afraid I don't recognise you Harry even if you seem rather familiar with the security around the castle and my office."

I threw the invisibility cloak off myself and Aberforth now the game was up and saw Harry do the same.

"Albus." Aberforth greeted his brother gruffly.

"Its good to see you brother. Would you care to explain why you are in my office with a wayward student and a man who I believe matches the description of Ms Delacour's recent partner."

Watching the byplay between the brothers is was clear that the Headmaster seemed slightly distressed by his brother's presence.

"They came into the Hog a while back and told me that you were getting ideas above your station again. That you were once again failing in your duty of care for a young girl. You see how I might be interested in that situation Albus?" Growled the barkeep. The headmaster winced at the accusation.

"How do they know?" Albus muttered, half to himself.

"Don't know, ask the boy. He knew."

"Albus, you took control of Rosaline's life when she was incapable of looking after herself, you have been off doing your own thing and not looking after her properly. Thankfully you're not off galivanting with Dark Lords this time." The statement from Harry hit Albus like a body blow. I sat up a little straighter. Harry had never told me the full story, claiming it was the headmaster's secrets but now it seemed I was about to get the nasty details.

"I don't know how you know about that, would you care to enlighten me as it appears you have me at quite a disadvantage?" Requested the Headmaster.

"Would you like the truth Albus?" Asked Harry, his voice suddenly tired.

"I think it best." Confirmed Professor Dumbledore.

"You of all people know that the truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with caution. But we both know more than that the truth is what you make it to be."

"So what shall the truth be today?" Asked the Headmaster calm now, his eyes twinkling in curiosity.

"Are you a good man Albus Dumbledore?" Harry asked. Aberforth laughed harshly.

"I fear it is not ourselves that we have to convince although sometimes they are the hardest to make believe."

"What would you do in the name of the _greater good_ , what you would you do if you were desperate. Would you still be able to convince yourself you're a good person?"

Something about the way Harry spat 'greater good' caused Dumbledore to break eye contact with Harry and look to Fawkes who had kept quiet in the corner.

"The greater good. You do know your history well. I think that you understand the temptation these world hold."

Harry nodded. "You can justify anything with them. If you believe the ends will justify the means."

I was watching the two interact intently. It was different to when Dumbledore spoke to me. Right now he was a tired old man talking to someone he considered an equal. Beside me Aberforth had a wry grin on watching someone his brother couldn't just roll over.

"If you know your history you know the pain those words have caused me."

"And yet sometime you fall back on them when you feel you have no choice." Harry retorted.

"What have I done to you? Clearly I have wronged you but I know not how and for that I can only apologise."

"What would you do Albus if Rose died. If you had a hand in killing her but it was suicide and Tom was still out there?" Harry asked, his face set cold.

"I don't know. You seemingly know how important she is in the fight against Tom. I would be desperate." Admitted Harry.

"You would be desperate enough to do something for the greater good regardless of how you felt about it?" Harry asked.

"I would hope not but it seems clear to me that I already have."

"You but not you. I have met three Albus Dumbledores, all with too many middle names but the first two have had very different effects on my life. The first was a mentor, a friend. The second, he was desperate and took from me everything I had. He did it all because he felt his need was of greater importance than any happiness I might have. Now I am here, who are you, Albus Dumbledore?"

"I take it I performed the ritual described in the purple book sealed within my personal library?" Dumbledore asked sagging.

"You did, and you got me. I however didn't co-operate, I left but couldn't get home. I ended up here. You once told me it was our choices that define us and I am not impressed with what I have seen here."

"Perhaps now you will give me an answer when I ask who you are?"

"Harry James Potter, son of Lily and James Potter. The child of the prophecy, the boy-who-lived I am the man who conquered and the fist of the night."

I had never heard the last two but they made some sense. He had beaten Voldemort and that would get him another title. The way he had dealt with some of the Death Eaters wouldn't get him a nice title either. I was determined to keep my mouth shut until this was over though, no matter how tempted I was to ask who gave it to him.

"So Harry James Potter, you are the one responsible for Rose not being where she is supposed to be?"

"Oh, Headmaster where she is supposed to be is so subjective. I would argue I am responsible for putting her where she is supposed to be and you and the Order are responsible for misplacing her. What is the truth? Where is the beauty in this?"

"Ah, forgive me. You said that the original me from your world was a mentor and friend to you." Dumbledore stated moving the conversation away. "What differences were made for this to be so?"

"I was a polite, cunning perfectly charming young Slytherin who didn't want to go back to the muggles for summer. Here you dismissed Rose. For me, you were terrified, you had déjà vu and had a good long look at the Dursleys. You apologised to me and let me stay at the castle. You took an interest in my studies and tutored me every week to make sure I wasn't going to be just like Tom."

"I can see how that might have changed things." Dumbledore confirmed.

"If you apologise to Rose and promise to help her to the best of your abilities I can give you some presents." Harry replied with a smile.

"I am helping her." Dumbledore defended. "but right now she needs to enjoy her childhood while she can."

"Aiding the murder of our sister may have been the defining point of your youth Albus but we all know what is out there and this girl is not Arianna, you can't give her a childhood to make up for the one you cut short. You cannot willingly hide this girl from life and death in the name of childhood." Aberforth interjected angrily blowing me away. Dumbledore helped kill his sister? I was so curious I hesitantly pushed a bit of magic towards the headmaster trying to gaze his thoughts. I got a glimpse of a young light hair girl before quite forcefully the image distorted and I found myself looking intently at a lemon sherbet and nothing else. The mind was entirely focused on the sherbet and I knew I'd been caught.

The headmaster who had been tearing up slightly suddenly smiled slightly. "I see you've taught her some tricks." He told Harry before turning to me. "It is considered rather impolite to gaze into the minds of others no matter how curious you are. That being said I think we've all been guilty of it a time or two. Well done, it was a good effort and I have to commend you on your bravery in attempting it. Remember what I told Mr Longbottom in your first year. Sometimes it takes more bravery to stand up to your friends and it appears that today I am surrounded by people I hope to call friends all willing to stand up to me."

"I'm sorry sir." I wasn't sure if I was apologising for the legilimency or what happened to his sister because it was clear he regretted whatever part he had in it but either way I felt I had to.

"It's quite already dear. I just ask that you use your new skills sparingly on the students of the school. It is a breach of privacy even if they can't detect you." The headmaster requested. "These two feel that I should help you more, prepare you for something, do you agree with them?"

"Once my occlumency was good enough Harry told me about the prophecy Sir." I explained. "He also told me a few other secrets." Nervously touching my scar which was more faded than before the ritual. Dumbledore picked up on the movement and its meaning.

"I had hoped that when you learnt the truth about that night and your scar you would be ready. The truth truly is a beautiful and terrible thing. Know that if I could do anything to spare you that fate I would."

"You hoped I'd be ready to die." I stated, wanting to hear him confirm it. To watch one of my idols come crumbling down.

"Indeed." Confirmed the headmaster.

"All for your bloody greater good I take it." Aberforth muttered. I still wasn't sure what all this greater good stuff was but it seemed to hurt Professor Dumbledore every time it came up.

"I had hoped that Rose would make a choice to do the right thing."

"Harry once told me that dying would be easy for me. He was right. The hard thing he told me would be living with myself after doing what I had to do to win the war." I told the room.

"Who decides what is right and what is easy?" Harry asked causing the Headmaster to sigh.

"I take it you have another solution." He surmised.

"Your first present." Harry declared. "Rose gets to decide if you've earnt the others." Harry reached down to the satchel bag he had with him and removed a familiar shield. I recoiled, edging away from the foul thing. Harry handed it over to the headmaster still wrapped in the silk. "try to avoid touching it too much."

The headmaster used his wand to unwrap the shield. Reading the inscription, he smiled slightly, he cast a few spells on it before he looked up. "How?" He asked, sounding almost desperate.

"We did something very naught for a good reason. Rose took a split section attached to her soul and placed it in a prepared object. I think you understand what I'm talking about. Rose has promised me that she will never do it for real but as you can see it was rather effective." Harry explained.

"I had never thought, I always assumed the requirement." Dumbledore muttered. "Is this how you did it in your world?"

"It is, you had been assassinated hours before and had disagreed with me doing it but I knew I had to. You felt that the cost to my own soul would be too great. I'll admit my soul was truly shattered in the war that followed but never for an innocent life and never did I perform the ritual again after that night."

I felt the atmosphere in the room was so tense, expose the horcrux was oozing evil. I wanted it gone. Dumbledore was seemingly accepting it for what it was.

"Can we destroy it now?" I asked when the room had descended into silence.

"I should think so. Any recommendations on how to destroy them?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

"Basilisk venom works well but if you're short on time and in a large space fiendfyre works to. Prettier as well." Answered Harry.

"Well as it happens we have something impregnated with basilisk venom in this room. Rose could you please retrieve the sword of Gryffindor." Instructed the Headmaster.

I got up and walked over to the display case near Fawkes, pausing briefly to pet the phoenix who trilled happily. I removed the sword from the case and as I walked towards the horcrux it seemed to sense its destruction was near and the tension in the room rocketed.

"I think Rose deserves the honours." Professor Dumbledore stated. I nodded and swung the sword overhead against the shield. A loud screech seemed to emanate from the now ruined shield and the room seemed to warm up again. I smiled, with the diary that made two soul pieces down, five to go.

"It is refreshing albeit slightly worrying sometime to be reminded how much more there is for me to learn. I beg for your forgiveness Rose, please understand that I was acting on what little information I had and only hoped you'd have the happiest life possible."

"I forgive you for making a mistake. To err is to be human and all that. I do want to know though why you never checked on me?" I asked, I wanted to be angry at him but really it would be better to have him on my side and it wasn't like we never made mistakes.

"Your aunt, ever since she was a young girl has dislike those of us with magic. I needed you there for the protection provided by your shared blood. Then, thinking it would make your life easier I let it be. Arabella Figg, a squip friend of mine has provided regular reports on you, she claimed you were slightly underweight but your father was always scrawny until he grew into his frame in his last few years here so I assumed nothing was wrong."

I was shocked to learn Ms Figg was a squib but more than a little annoyed at her than she'd never mentioned that I was dressed in rags. That should have said something was wrong if nothing else. I made the choice to move past what had happened and stay focused on the future.

"Has he earnt his presents?" Harry asked me. I wasn't sure what these presents were but I nodded anyway.

"Goodie, now Albus, this warning is for you especially but its rather general, what I am about to pull out has a nasty curse on it and a strong compulsion. In my world I had to shoot a couple of stinging curses at you to stop you killing yourself." Harry warned reaching into his sack and tossing the headmaster a small pouch. "Rose, do the stabby stuff with the sword."

Dumbledore removed a ring from the pouch, it was an ugly looking thing, a large black stone with a strange engraving. He dropped it to the table staring at it. I could see the strain on his face as he fought the compulsion which seemed much stronger on him than me. I could feel it telling me to try the ring on but Dumbledore's brow was sweating at the mental struggle.

"Is that, is that it?" Dumbledore asked hesitantly.

"Tom doesn't even realise what he had and yes. Let me remind you however which of us are descended from the Perverells and where that is going afterwards. I look up to you headmaster but this was always your weakness." Harry confirmed.

I raised the sword and thrust it at the ring causing another screech, the stone seemed untouched but the ring itself seemed warped and had lost its shine and appeal. I sighed in relief as the compulsion lifted.

"How?" Dumbledore asked staring at the ring.

"The Gaunt hovel. He took if from his uncle the day he murdered his father and grandparents." Harry explained. "The whole place was cursed something nasty."

Harry rummaged again in his bag. Pulling out a tiara and placing it on the desk. "This one was hidden in Hogwarts, the arrogant berk thought he'd found something about the castle nobody else ever had."

"That's Ravenclaw's lost diadem." The headmaster stated in awe.

"And now its hosting a bit of Tom."

I stabbed it feeling better knowing that each time I did this I was one step closer to stopping Voldemort.

"Tom has gone too far, so much history ruined through his arrogance." Dumbledore snarled sounding angry. For the first time, I saw why he truly was the only one Voldemort ever feared. I felt like I was being crushed into my seat by the power of the man in front of me.

"It gets worse." Harry explained.

"How?" Dumbledore asked shocked.

"He's got Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket too."

Dumbledore shook his head in dismay. "His arrogance knows no bounds."

"Hufflepuff's cup is in the LeStrange vault at Gringotts and the locket, well someone stole that from Tom. I never worked out who, his initials were R.A.B and that was enough for you. You took us to this grotty place I can't name where Sirius and this crotchety old elf were and the elf had the locket. I assume that I can't remember the place at all since its under Fidelus meaning you can go get it now."

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Said Dumbledore as he stood and made his way over to the fireplace with purpose before disappearing into the floo network with a swirl of green. Aberforth stood and headed right behind Dumbledore's desk clearly looking for something. Harry stood too and headed over to Fawkes who he began to pet leaving me the only person still seated. I wasn't sure what was happening. Aberforth seemed to have found whatever he was after having removed it from a draw.

"You'll be fine without me. I have pub to run." Aberforth announced before leaving through the floo. I looked round to see what Harry was up to, He seemed to have sat himself on the windowsills of the large windows, he was leaning back and looked so relaxed as he stroked Fawkes I could see he had done this hundreds of times. It must be strange for him to be back here with a different Dumbledore, one who hasn't shared all his experiences.

Dumbledore returned after around ten minutes, a silver locket in his hand. "I have promised a very concerned house elf that I will destroy this." He announced placing the locket on the desk.

"That's the one." Confirmed Harry as he inspected the locket. I held out the sword to Dumbledore who hesitated before he took it.

"You promised the elf. This whole thing about the prophecy is about duty." I suggested. "I've got enough to do."

"Thank you Rose, you must know the story of this sword though. It is said it can only be wielded by a true Gryffindor, I wonder if my actions leading to this moment qualify." Dumbledore stated solemnly. He took a deep breath before swinging the sword overhead only for it to bounce off, jarring the Professor's shoulder.

"Did that happen last time?" Dumbledore asked as he inspected the blade for chips or cracks.

"Don't know." Answered Harry. "I wanted you to teach my how to cast Fiendfyre. You didn't want to but admitted that it was important to know how to suppress it. To do some we needed some Fiendfyre. You can see how this ends. The locket was nothing more than a heap of slag by the end. Like an Essex girl the morning after."

"I do hope you have no experience in the matter." Dumbledore groaned.

"Only heard sir, we both know my tastes are a bit more refined." Harry stated, his smirk showing he was proud of photo girl and Fleur.

"But alas, that does seem like my round a bout way of teaching. Shall we take it outside?" queried the headmaster?

I wasn't listening properly, I was inspecting the locket. There was no doubt it was a horcrux, the coldness and wrongness oozing from it was so thick you could feel it washing over you.

"It's got hinges!" I announced triumphantly. Pointing to the tiny hinges in the side. I sagged slightly when I found no catch on the other side.

"Its Slytherin's locket. Use parseltounge, if its like the Chamber he and Tom would be too arrogant in their belief nobody else possessed the skills necessary." Instructed Harry. Dumbledore rolled his shoulder a few times before lifting the sword.

"Open." I hissed focusing on the snake engraving. The locket popped open and a girl's voice rang out, echoing and somehow hollow.

"Albus, you killed me. Your lust for power poisoned Gellert's mind. All those deaths are your fault. Why does anyone even trust you anymore, can't they see what happens to those close to you?" Dumbledore looked so old and frail in that moment that I thought he would falter.

"Be gone Tom, cease befouling her memory." Dumbledore roared suddenly angry. He thrust the sword through the open locket and skewered it to the desk bellow. The girl's voice shrieked.

"Again Albus?"

Thankfully it was the last thing it had to say. The Headmaster stumbled over to his chair and collapsed into it clearly drained. It seemed slightly surreal to me to have the kind headmaster, the most powerful wizard alive looking so weak with a sword impaling his desk.

"Any other surprises or presents?" Dumbledore asked, sounding both tired and amused.

"Nope, I have a teaching technique that you helped me develop but otherwise no. The final soul pieces are Voldemort himself, the snake and that cup in Gringotts."

"I must thank you for all that you have done. I had intented to spend much of this year searching for memories of Tom's childhood in an attempt to deduce what and where his horcruxes were. Alas, if you had come to me a week earlier I would have offered you the position as Defence Against the Dark Arts position but instead I was unable to find someone suitable and the Ministry has seen fit to provide me with someone."

"Umbridge?" Harry asked.

"You know her?"

"One of the reasons other Harry was suicidal." Harry explained. "From what I was told she's a nasty piece of work."

Dumbledore seemed to contemplate that while I kept quiet. I wasn't ignorant, I knew what the ministry and the Prophet were saying about me and Dumbledore but I had been ignoring it best I could. Harry had told me they were irrelevant and even if they weren't there was nothing I could do without coming across as sulking.

"Do you have any recommendations?" Dumbledore asked.

"It's your problem. I plan on taking no part in this war. I have done my part and I have made your life easier. Now Rose doesn't have to die you should help her more. More than that you need to think about an after plan. Killing a man is easy, living with it is harder and cleaning up the society that created him will be near impossible."

"Killing a man is never easy." Dumbledore replied.

"The only reason Rose isn't dead is because Tom needs to kill her publicly to silence the doubters. If he was allowed to poison her or have one of him minions curse her in the back then she wouldn't last a week."

I couldn't help but feel a little hurt by that. I had survived dementors, dragons and a lot more than most people had already.

"I believe you underestimate the girl." Dumbledore stated. I couldn't help but feel grateful to the Headmaster for that.

"Albus, could anything stop Voldemort converting a student and having him cast a killing curse in the corridor. Regardless of what your pet auror says it is not possible to be constantly vigilant. One of her friends could easily be imperiused and kill her in her sleep. Her food isn't checked and we all know how the Weasley twins use the elves to spike the food. Any female Gryffindor has access to her dorm, anyone creative enough can get to her while she sleeps. Unlike Tom its public record where she sleeps. Only Tom's pride keeps her alive and thankfully, that's one thing that can be counted on to be a constant."

Laid out like that it was hard not to be scared. I'd never really thought about how fragile out lives were. How we were only alive because people made the decision not to kill us. If Colin Creevey's creepy stalking went into the whole if I can't have her no-one can region then I would never see it coming. We live in a school full of people carrying potentially lethal sticks. Heck, Harry had made me promise to always carry my Goblin forged knife at that wasn't designed to slice food. I could just kill someone, suddenly Harry's statements made so much sense. It wouldn't be hard to plunge the knife in, to empty the vial of poison into the drink no it would be hard when you realised what you had done. That moment you realise they will never see their families again, they have spent years on this planet and there is almost certainly going to be someone who misses them.

"I'm sure if it was that easy I would have died years ago." Dumbledore argued.

"Imagine the fear you put into people should they fail. Only Tom would want you dead anyway, everyone else can and does work around you." Harry countered

"Has anyone ever told you flattery is not your strong point." Dumbledore sighed.

"A few. I can however be charming if I need to."

Watching them interact you could see Harry knew Dumbledore well. The familiarity was there even if Dumbledore didn't know Harry well. I knew that today had gone well. I wasn't sure when Harry had got the other Horcruxes but I suspected his morning walks were more than just walks sometimes.

"Will you be joining the Order, I understand your reluctance to get involved but I have to ask?" Enquired Dumbledore.

"No, once Rose starts school I might go travelling or something." Harry replied. "I think that's enough for today, do you have Rose's Hogwarts letter?"

"It should be with Professor McGonagall, she takes them to the owls." Dumbledore informed them. "Forgive me for not walking you there but I have paperwork to complete before the Ministry send their teacher."

We said our goodbyes and made our way to the deputy headmistress' office. On the walk we mainly traded our experiences of being in the headmaster's office. Harry waited outside the office to reduce the number of questions she would ask.

The professor was surprised to see me and was aware I had been missing but was willing to hand over my letter once I told her I had just come from Dumbledore's office. I took my letter and the Professor's best wishes and left. Harry and I walked out the front door. Due to it being summer the front gate was shut so we took the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack so Harry could apparate us back to the flat. I hated apparition but it was convenient. I made Harry promise to teach me tomorrow. I opened my Hogwarts letter and Harry transfigured my face letting me go buy my recommended texts. It was strange being given so much freedom but as he pointed out when I asked, if it looked like I had a bunch of bodyguards it means that you're someone important. Anonymity was a better defence than a bored auror and Harry didn't want to go meaning I could go and get my books early, take advantage of the fact I could cast spells to get ahead now and maybe pick up hints and tips from Harry and Fleur, or I could wait until Harry felt the need to go to Diagon Alley and go with him.

The next morning I woke up feeling great. Over the past week, I had been feeling the mounting pressure due to guilt, I knew people in the Order who genuinely cared for me were worrying and that it was my fault. It was a great relief to know Dumbledore was now fine with me staying with Harry. I think he would have preferred me to stay with my relatives but after meeting Harry he now trusted him.

The day was spent going over my textbooks and practicing whichever spells were practical to practice. I was horrified however with the Defence text which seemed to advocate running away and never actually defending yourself. This had to be the worst thing I had ever read and it was my OWL year. I wasn't sure how important OWLs were especially with a head to head with Voldemort on the books but the rest of the year would be suffering. I showed Harry to book and he laughed at it for a full minute before throwing it in the corner of the room and sending Jeevesy to purchase a copy of Confronting the Faceless which he told me was a superb book. He transfigured the cover of the book to resemble the Slinkhard book on Defensive Magical Theory. Harry was right, Confronting the Faceless was a very interesting book.

Fleur came over for dinner that night with some papers for Harry to look over about a house purchase. Harry disappeared into his room to use his desk and Fleur was happy to help me with the spells. I couldn't practice the Defence spells without a target but we were able to cover a lot of the charms and transfiguration. We normally learnt a new spell a week or if it was important we might spend a fortnight on it but lots of that was theory. Neither Harry nor Fleur cared much for theory, they claimed you would be judged on your magic not your memorisation, the OWL grade was split with 65% for the practical mark and only 35% for the theory. The theory they said could be learnt for the exams. Being able to cast the spells was part of your life as a witch. Much of Charms for fifth year was revision of previous years but there were a few new spells and I got most of those down that evening with Fleur's help.

I suspected Fleur stayed over again last night as she was in the flat when I emerged from my room the next morning.

"Good morning Fleur." I greeted her as I made my way into the room.

"Good morning Rose." She replied, her accent was back, it appeared she needed to refresh her spell.

"You and Harry have anything planned for today?" I asked wondering if she would be around to help me again.

"We are looking at properties. Will you be coming?" answered Fleur.

I had known Harry was looking for somewhere else, it would be strange to not be in the flat but I couldn't deny that I wanted my own desk. It was hard doing homework on my bed and even with the fact I could cast spells freely now and was probably doing more magic now than at school I wasn't doing as much reading as I probably should.

"I don't know. I think its up to Harry." I wasn't sure what else to say, I was a guest in his home hard as it was to remember at time. I might be family but so long as he had a way to jump realities again I was replaceable. He was a master at the Mind Arts, if he didn't want to feel something then he could suppress it. Not fully but enough to move on. I knew he still missed photo girl but he wouldn't allow it to interfere with him and Fleur. I remembered the breakdown he'd had when I accused him of using Fleur, he wasn't even close to being over photo girl but he had enough emotional control to not let it affect him. If I could filter that well then, I could deal with my fame much better. The stares and the like could all be pushed into the background but I couldn't help but wonder if it was healthy.

"'Ere 'e iz now." Fleur announced as the front door opened and Harry came in. I wasn't sure quite when our mornings became so routine that I always emerged from my room a few minutes before Harry returned from his walk but it was consistent enough that I had noticed. "'Arry, iz Rose coming wiz us?"

"If she wants. Otherwise I had a list of potions she should try brewing." Harry replied seemingly not caring either way.

I thought the potions would probably be useful but I had worked hard these last few weeks and I was curious. "I'll come if you don't mind."

"Its fine. Shall we, or do you need breakfast?" Harry asked.

"If you two have eaten and are ready let's go." I offered, trying to be accommodating. This was something for Harry and while Fleur was acting as an agent of Gringotts if she and Harry stayed together then it could be her home too meaning I was intruding so I didn't want to cause trouble.

Fleur disappeared into Harry's room and returned with her coat. It surprised me that she didn't have a cloak but when we took the portkey Fleur provided to the first house it made sense. The whole area was muggle. They had arrived in an alleyway down a side street. Fleur pulled out a slip of parchment and used it to lead them to the first home. It was a six-bedroom home, large, easily worth half a million pounds but so much of the price depended on the postcode. The house was almost bare, it seemed like a new build. Fleur was meant to be selling the house but I think she and Harry were just wandering around together leaving me to inspect the house for myself.

The next house was and old inn. The period features had been well kept and there was a much warmer feel to the place. It was quite far out from any village and with the advent of motor vehicles the Inn had been turned more into a pub but had lacked regular business and was now up for sale. It fit Harry's requirements and with magic remodelling wasn't an issue.

The third and final place was an old farm. The barn could be converted and it was well out of the way allowing Harry to openly practice magic. The surrounding land would fall under the sale too which Fleur pointed out could be used for green houses so Harry could grow his own potions ingredients. For lunch, we made our way into the local village and found a decent restaurant. It was then more than ever I pitied Fleur, I only had to deal with attention in the wizarding world. Her problem was that she was unnaturally beautiful, her problem would follow her wherever she went and she was far too proud to hide her face. Harry made it slightly easier for her by being attentive and regularly distracting her from the stares. Harry got up to fetch a female waiter since the male one had glazed over and openly had been staring at her in a rather lecherous way.

We returned to the flat that afternoon where Harry kissed Fleur and said he needed some thinking time and disappeared into his room. I didn't want to do any work so I decided to just chat with Fleur while Harry made a decision.

"Does that happen a lot when you two go out?" I asked thinking back to the waiter.

Fleur seemed to understand "It does. So few people can control zemselves."

"You ever wish you were someone else?" I asked not sure if I was asking her or for myself.

"Non, I am Fleur Delacour." She responded with such confidence it was all she needed to say. I couldn't help but smile. She like Harry was almost certainly of the opinion that it was other people's problems that they behaved so poorly. I wanted to agree but doing so felt slightly arrogant.

"How's work been since Harry showed up?"

"Better. Most of zem were disciplined enough to control zemselves, zey just chose not to. Curse breakers and ze like are clever and zey know it. 'Arry has shown them I am taken and happy. I am not rejecting them through spite alzough, I had done before I met 'Arry. Let's not tell zem zough, zey can zink I met 'Arry first." Fleur replied with a smug smile. It felt strange just to chat, I may have shared a dorm with Parvati and Lavender but gossip wasn't something I paid attention to and Hermione, well she was more interesting in things without a pulse, ideally with pages.

"What about Bill Weasley?" I asked.

"Ze redheaded one?" I nodded in comfirmation. "I zink if 'e 'ad asked me before I met 'Arry I might 'ave said yes. 'E is 'andsome and powerful." Fleur answered as she shook her shoes off so she could rest her feet on the sofa. "'E iz ze brozer of your friend oui?"

"Yeah he's Ron's oldest brother. I've only met him a few times. He seems quite cool." I confirmed. "What else do you do at Gringotts when you aren't helping Harry buy a house?"

"A 'ouse isn't ze only zing I am buying for 'Arry. But I can assist ze security teams or I can be asked to assess ze value of items to decide if ze goblins might be interested."

I nodded in understanding. "What's it like working with the goblins, I know Harry doesn't like them."

"I zink I 'ave it better zan most. Some classify me as part creature and so we 'ave a certain kinship. I am still 'owever no goblin and zerefore a lesser being in zeir eyes. I am respected for my skills but zey will never like me and zat can be 'ard."

"You think you'll keep working at Gringotts?"

"Non, I came to Britain to learn some more English, it is an important language. I wanted to see some more of ze world. 'Arry might be worth staying for but if it ends zen I may well return to France."

"Which house do you think Harry will buy?" I asked, I also wondered which she preferred.

"I zink, I zink that the first 'as no soul. If 'e wanted that 'e could stay 'ere. Eizer of ze ozer two would be fine." Responded Fleur.

"What's your preference?"

"I like ze farm for what you can do. I zink the inn might make a better 'ome." Fleur responded.

"Does Harry know which you prefer."

Fleur laughed, "Somehow 'e always does."

I felt odd in that moment. Fleur was my friend and her boyfriend was invading her privacy. Of course Harry knew what she wanted when he could read her mind so easily. Was it wrong though? He was cheating not in the traditional sense but he knew how to make her happy, he never had to earn it. If it made her happy it shouldn't be wrong but how would she react if she knew? There was a chance that he wasn't using passive legilimency but Harry had a tendency to use it constantly with a featherlight touch, looking for any sense of training before searching surface thoughts.

"You think he's a magical mind reader?" I asked in what I hoped was a joking tone.

"If 'e iz zen 'e can keep doing it if it keeps getting me breakfast in bed and massages." Fleur responded. Unknowingly settling my metal debate. I smiled in relief, I didn't want to take sides between Harry and Fleur, I'd feel loyalty to Harry but at times Fleur was more my friend.

"Ladies." Harry greeted us as he returned. "Fleur could you put an offer in for the Inn. I think it's the better option and the benefits of the farm can be achieved by getting a shed and magically extending it. I have no plans for green houses and I prefer the trees to the fields."

"Shall I do it now?" Fleur asked.

"How long for the sale to go through and will you be free to help pick out furniture. I reckon I could splash out on your commission you need an excuse." Harry checked.

"If I do the paperwork zis afternoon it will be yours by ze morning." Fleur responded. "And if you want me I can be yours tomorrow. Ze goblins do not care what I do so long az I bring galleons."

Harry paused for a moment. "I don't want to make it seem like I'm buying your time. I'm willing to take advantage of a system that lets me spend time with you but I never want you to feel you have to spend time with me if you would rather do something else. If you want to do other jobs, then I'll invite you out to go furniture shopping at the weekend."

"I want to go tomorrow. I care not what ozers zink and I will spend time wiz 'oever I please."

"You definitely please me." Harry replied smirking. "That's good anyway because I wanted to hop over to Paris at the weekend. I heard the apothecary had a new shipment of bicorn horns and it would be remiss of me not to invite you for lunch while we're there."

I felt like an outside watching them interact like that. I knew more about Harry than Fleur did, secrets I wasn't sure he'd ever share with her but they clicked sometimes and seemed to understand each other. I hoped that was due to their similarities and not Harry exploiting his legilimency to always say the right thing somehow. I snuck out the room and into my bedroom, pulling out my transfiguration textbook for next year. I'm sure Fleur would like to thank Harry and I didn't need to witness it.

The next day I chose not to accept the invitation to go shopping with them instead reminding myself I had OWLs to past and Voldemort to survive. Harry seemed pleased with my choice, he gave me a list of potions to brew for myself. He claimed that it was always useful to have a few of each ready at any given time. I pulled out my textbook and the book Fleur got me and started to make a new, annotated instructions list where I highlighted the key points and what preparation could be done in advance. Jeevesy was sent to purchase fresh ingredients for me as Harry had left and couldn't disguise me and I didn't want to go out in public with the Prophet claiming such nasty things. It was one step away from accusing me of murdering Cedric. Luckily the house elf could go and buy things for me. Jeevesy didn't know enough about ingredients to make sure I got the good stuff but a note and some gold ought to be enough. Harry had left me access to his supply of restricted substances as well for some of the more questionable potions. The list included veritaserum, several poisons and even more antidotes. Quite what Harry expected me to be getting up to I wasn't sure but it would be good practice if nothing else.

The day was quiet, just me and a cauldron, I suspected Harry called Jeevesy to him at some point because the elf wasn't around. I'd only managed to finish two of the potions on the list but I think getting my own stockpile was more a long-term aim. Harry and Fleur returned in the evening and having left Jeevesy to renovate the old inn Harry fetched a Chinese take-out which was enjoyed by all.

Harry sat me down the next morning while Fleur went into Gringotts. I wasn't sure what he wanted but he had a serious expression on his face and the leather-bound notebook was back.

"We should talk about the war." He suggested.

"Err, okay." I responded, it wasn't eloquent but what exactly did he want me to say?

"You can kill Voldemort and survive but lose the war. What is the difference between surviving and wining?" Harry asked.

I wasn't sure what he meant and said so.

"If you killed Voldemort in the middle of the night and he was found dead by his supporters would they just go back to normal lives, would the society that created him have changed or would they rally around a new banner for the same fight?"

Would it be naive of me to say I hoped so. "Didn't people like Malfoy just give up last time?" I asked.

"And the LeStranges tortured the Longbottoms into insanity. What if without Voldemort pulling their strings they became worse, what stops them unleashing fiendfyre in the middle of a muggle town and apparating away. They kill and torture to intimidate, they want people to give in but some of them really hate muggles. What if they no longer had to stick to the script. There are rules to every game, Voldemort won't try and wipe out the muggles too much in case it gets their attention and in return we clean up their messes and hide it from the muggles. A war with the muggles is something neither side wants. The ministry has people placed in the muggle government, with a few imperios here and there we could control them, we don't but we could turn their weapons on themselves. They however do possess weapons that could wipe us out. A nuclear weapon on Hogwarts is going to wipe out a generation of magical children."

"Where's this going?"

"You need to work out what a victory looks like. You can survive this war but winning is hard. Killing Voldemort is easy, killing him in the right way is harder and making sure his followers aren't going to make things worse afterwards is going to be near impossible if you don't have a plan." Harry answered.

"What, I just plan to murder them all?" I checked. Harry looked at me as if I was an idiot.

"The Death Eaters and those that support them make up around seventy percent of the Ministry's tax income. People moan that muggleborns pay a higher percentage but it's the rich purebloods whose donations and the like that keep the ministry afloat. If you killed them all, ignoring how dangerous that would be, then the ministry might well collapse. If the ministry collapses, then there is no DMLE keeping criminals from exploiting the muggles. How long after the ministry goes down does the Statue of Secrecy and if that goes war with the muggles will follow. Humans are awful at not killing each other for stupid reasons."

What a bleak outlook. I didn't really want to kill everyone it had been a bad attempt at a joke.

"So, I need them alive and cooperating but not radical anymore. Please don't tell me you want me to obliviate away all their prejudice, as bad as it is I'm not comfortable with the idea of hundreds of drones. That's existing not living."

"It's not my problem what they are like afterwards, it's yours. I wouldn't suggest obliviating them but it is good to see you actually think about the implications of that spell." Harry replied.

"Wouldn't the DMLE be free to clear up the leftovers once Voldemort died, Malfoy wouldn't stick to a sinking ship would he, he's too comfortable now to risk it?"

"Good point. Malfoy is indeed a selfish coward who tends to be very good at telling which way the wind is blowing. He is rich and would splash some cash to make sure he keeps his image. Crabbe and Goyle would follow him and Nott is a poor man's version of Malfoy."

"Could the DMLE deal with the others?"

"If it ever comes out into the open that they are Death Eaters then they're backed into a corner and what do wild beasts do when trapped into a corner?" questioned Harry.

"Lash out?"

"Indeed. The DMLE could deal with it but fighting someone with nothing to lose is hard. To them everything is an acceptable loss. Blowing themselves up and everything around them might seem worth it. Would the DMLE recover or would they be weakened enough someone else could pounce?"

"So Malfoy and some other slime might go back to pretending that they were never involved and use money to further their agenda instead of their wands while the devout will cause trouble no matter what."

"Most likely and if Malfoy is spending his money like that have you changed anything at all? Is what we have had for the last few years worth risking your life for or should you run?"

"You didn't run." I stated, not wanting to thing about if I'd run.

"I couldn't" He responded.

"And why can I?" I asked

"I don't know, can you?" He pushed.

"Why couldn't you?" I asked hoping his reasoning would help me get a good answer, I knew I wouldn't run but I wasn't sure how to express it.

"She would never leave her family and I couldn't leave her I had to stay to make sure she was safe." Harry responded sadly. I knew without a doubt he was talking about photo girl. Fleur might be his future but there would always be a part of him that belonged to her, in another reality.

"I can't leave my friends either, especially when Sirius and Remus are going to fight. I have to help them." I answered, it had been my reasoning all along but I hadn't wanted to say it in case he called it stupid.

"You have a reason to fight, what do you want the world to be for them? You are the girl-who-lived and they'll give you more titles if you kill Tom. If you used them then you can shape the world people would do anything for your favour, Malfoy knows you know about him and if you can kill his master then he knows you could kill him and he'd rather work for you than die no matter how much it hurts his pride. He might try and work around you but he'd never take you on."

I winced, I hated the idea of using my fame. It still made me uncomfortable but was it worth it if I could make everyone's lives better?

"I don't know." I replied honestly, I had never wanted to be important and had always tried just to blend in regardless of what other people wanted.

"Best get thinking. The longer it takes you to stop Tom the worse the damage will be and if you have no plan for after then there will be a power vacuum that threatens to tear everything apart. Have and endgame and an exit strategy. Winning is making sure you won't lose ever again. You could imperio Malfoy at Kings Cross on September first and order him to kill the snake and Voldemort, he might even succeed. The cup hasn't been dealt with so Voldemort would probably become a wraith again. It would buy you time if nothing else. Would it be worth it to try even if it failed?"

I didn't say anything. I was horrifying at times when Harry would suggest things like this. It always offered an easy option and I had been told to choose the right option but if it works it works surely? Harry told me this war could be won easily at the cost of my soul. That I could murder my way through and keep the stains on my soul alone. I would have died for my friends in an instant so why was I so reluctant to do this?

Harry got up and left me to think. I didn't ask what he was doing. Realising I needed to do something or else I would sit there all day I got up and grabbed some of my neglected summer homework. I had wanted to get Harry to teach me to apparate but I didn't really want to talk to him right now.

It was hard because I was so distracted but I managed to get all the left-over homework finished meaning I had a week and a half left before I started school with nothing to do. That wasn't strictly true, I had to plan a war and there was so much I should learn. Harry had told me to get better at school for myself arguing it was important for after everything but that no summer training montage would prepare me to face Voldemort in a duel. Dumbledore had agreed to help me but I wasn't sure what that meant. Harry had been able to hold his own against Voldemort after being tutored by Dumbledore but he had years over me.

After a light lunch that Jeevesy popped back to provide I decided I really wanted to learn how to apparate. It would give me more freedom than almost anything else. I marched up to Harry's room hoping he would be there. He was sprawled on his bed reading. It was a surprise to me that it was fiction.

"Why are you reading that?" I blurted out. Not the best greeting, especially when I wanted something but I was astonished that he was bothering.

"I grew up with few friends. I pushed myself to be the best, making time for others is hard when you sacrifice everything in search of greatness. I had two real friends and one of those was over a hundred years older than me. I then had to go through losing him only for a sick and twisted version of him to, from my point of view kill the other friend. Now I'm here, trying to move on with my life by training a young girl to get away with murder, to play with the minds of the weak. I'm a pretty screwed up person. Sometimes I need to read, to be reminded what its like to be human because I spend so much time in my own head I forget things about being normal. Fiction provided an escape and a reminder."

That kind of made sense. I'd never really bothered to read. I never had time for it at the Dursleys and at primary I had to pretend to be worse than I was so I didn't get ahead of Dudley.

"Anyway, could you teach me to apparate?"

"I could."

"Will you?"

"If you ask nicely."

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Please stop being a dick and teach me to apparate."

"That was nice?"

"No, I didn't think you deserved me being nice, if you want nice find Fleur." I replied.

"Fine." Harry relented. "You want the sensible way or accelerated teaching method or the Ministry approved way?"

I wasn't sure but I assumed the accelerated method was legilimency. If the ministry was different to the sensible way I'd try the sensible way first.

"Can we start with the sensible way and if I don't get it then we move onto the accelerated method?"

"Sure." Harry responded swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing. He walked towards me and took my arm with a twist and a crack I felt the horrible squeezing sensation as Harry apparated us. When I looked around having recovered enough to stand up straight I realised we were in the garden behind the inn. "Now how did that feel?"

"Horrible."

"Yes but describe it."

"Like every part of me was being compressed through something it wouldn't fit through." I answered.

"Yeah, that doesn't go away. Now what caused that?"

"I don't know." I replied straight away, unlike some of his questions that required you to think I had no clue what the answer was even supposed to be.

"Why do we twist before we apparate?"

"I don't know." I repeated. Harry sighed.

"Fine, apparition isn't quite teleportation, it's some barstadised version of self-transfiguration combined with some strange charms all formed into its own unique area of magic. You turn sharply to displace yourself slightly while you focus on exactly where you want to be and you will yourself there. The horrible feeling is all to do with how you get there. You've felt it, you need to accept that and want it. This is raw magic; the simplest and most powerful magic is built around the principle of I want it to be and so I make it so. You must want to be in the next place and make it so. Apparition is dangerous due to splinching, this is hesitation, not wanting to be in the next place, part of you wanting to stay behind or simply wishing to be somewhere else. Without a defined destination, you don't know where you're going so bits of you might try to go to different places. This is what makes apparition so hard to pull of mid duel. If you aren't completely focused, you splinch."

"Okay so I focus hard and will myself to be?" I checked.

"Basically. Your occlumency should help you focus better than most people. You have to want to apparate, you cannot pull it off if you are worried about that feeling. If you are only half-heartedly doing it then you are only transporting half of yourself. The Ministry wants you to have a bunch of Ds deliberation and some other stuff but stick to the rawest form of magic. I want it be and so I make it so."

I nodded. I began to look around for a place to apparate to. I had to focus on one spot. I assumed it would become easier and easier but for now I would need my full focus which meant having something to focus on would be easier. I spotted a tree trunk a little way away. The stump hadn't been torn out leaving a flat ring as a clear target. I focused, I wanted to be there and I would make it so. I spun on the spot, and promptly fell over.

I heard Harry laughing off to the side. "Oh of course you got it first time didn't you." I spat.

"I did, then again I was a prodigy." Harry replied smirking.

"You're me." I retorted.

"You if you hadn't wasted years, you had you been utterly dedicated and mentored by the greatest wizard since Merlin. Really are we the same?" I was slightly hurt by that comment but couldn't deny it. If our choices really did define us more than anything then we had made a lot of different choices and therefore were very different.

"Right, well any more tips?" I asked.

"You didn't use any magic, you were probably wishing but you weren't making it so. We are magical, we can shape the world as we see fit. To a muggle, we could be a god we have power, use it." Harry urged.

I accept that. I hadn't I had wanted to be there and I had spun, that was it. How to use magic? Such a simple question, one I'd never had to think about before. I was a witch I used magic, I waved my wand and magic happened. I rested my palm on my wand and felt the connection I had with it. I could feel the magic. I tried again. I willed myself to be on that stump absolutely focused, I felt my magic and I took it and twisted. I felt myself compress and I appeared with a crack. I was dizzy and sick for a moment before it was washed away with the feeling of triumph.

"Did it." I stated unnecessarily smirking at Harry.

"Of course you did. Its only hard if you have to listen to the ministry's explanation of it. Now a few general rules. That took you almost a minute before you moved, you need to get that to seconds if you want to use it under pressure. Another rule, if someone you're fighting or concerned about apparates you apparate instantly."

"Why?" I asked confused. Harry sighed and stood up from where he had been leaning against the wall. He started walking towards me but twisted and apparated mid step. I was shocked for a moment before I felt cold steel against my throat. Harry's curved goblin made knife was ready to tear my neck open. "Oh." I responded.

"Oh indeed. Its not a common tactic as the chances of splinching go up astronomically if you're doing it to avoid a spell since wondering about the implications being hit can distract you but Voldemort can definitely do it. Speaking of him, we need to stop saying the name."

"What why?" I asked confused. "Dumbledore always said fear of the name increased fear of the thing itself."

"Indeed and Dumbledore was never scared of drawing Tom's attention." Harry replied.

"But why would it?" I asked.

"Do you know why people were scared to say it? Why even the Death Eaters prefer not to say it?"

"No." I admitted.

"There is some old, complicated magic out there. In effect Tom cursed the name of his alias, He could send Death Eaters to anywhere the name was said within seconds. There is a chance he will set that up again. The only people brave or stupid enough to say the name will be those brave or stupid enough to stand against him. Dumbledore might not fear Death Eaters descending upon him, especially within Hogwarts but you should and I do. Not being afraid of Tom is a mistake, it trivialises him and regardless of his sanity he is near equal to Dumbledore's skill with none of the restraint."

Once again I felt slightly hopeless, I was up against someone who knew more about magic that I would probably ever learn. I hadn't even finished school and it was on my shoulders.

"You said never fight you won't win. That everything should be rigged in your favour before you step onto the battlefield, couldn't I rig it and turn that against him?" I asked.

"You could if you had confirmation he was using it and you knew the exact execution of his response. You could set up a trap of some sort but what happens if they apparate outside it? What if for some reason Tom himself came?"

I nodded reluctantly he was right again. It would be a great idea but there were too many variables. It could be used to trigger a major fight maybe but it wouldn't be practical for whittling off his support in the way I had thought.

"So he's now Tom or the stupid hyphenated name?"

"If you were a Slytherin calling him the Dark Lord would be fine but since that tends to be associated with his supporters I doubt you'd be comfortable using it." Harry answered.

Harry was right, I would not be comfortable with that. I had changed enough over these holidays that calling him the Dark Lord would give my friends every reason to believe that I was an imposter or something.

We spent another hour with me apparating around the garden before Harry told me to head back to the flat by myself and he would follow making sure all of me got there. I made it in one piece which pleased me but I wasn't happy it still took about a minute before I was ready. I could transport myself around but I couldn't use it to escape or in a fight until I got a lot better.

The rest of the week was mainly dedicated to studying for school. I was determined to arrive prepared for school. Hours now would be hours saved later. Harry spent an increasing amount of time setting up the Inn. Last heard he had removed a couple of walls turning a set of bedrooms into his own library only with no books to fill it yet. Jeevesy was rarely around but seemed over the moon at the extra work he had. Hermione clearly misunderstood house-elves, Dobby was the exception not the rule. Jeevesy's happiness was dependant on how much we had for him to do and how much he felt we relied on him. It was as if all he needed was to feel needed and that was enough for him I couldn't understand it but then he wasn't actually human. Maybe if our lives were that simple we would find someone to love and care for and that would be enough, we could be content.

The final week before Hogwarts Harry declared the old inn ready. He had enough furniture and most of the work was done. A few guest rooms were still in need of work but it was now a home. He was keeping the flat as a bolt hole only I, Fleur and Harry knew about and I was offered the choice if I wanted to stay there or move into the new place for a week. Deciding that I would pick up more useful information staying around Harry I went with them to the Inn.

The Inn was completely different, what had once been the public area and bar was now a grand living room. The bar had been kept and was well stocked but the drinks didn't really appeal to me. The library was the room I was most excited by, Harry despite having very few books on the bookshelves had set up a few nice desks with banker's lamps providing good light despite the dark wood the place was build from. The whole home was full of the dark wood but the varnish gave it a warm, expensive finish. It wasn't a manor but it was definitely a large place. Harry's rooms had a large master bedroom but also a little reception room where you could wait for him to finish getting ready or have a cup of tea before bed. I had a choice of all the other bedrooms in the place. There had once been eight bedrooms but Harry had built the library from three of those leaving five. One of which was the master so I had four to choose from. I chose one with huge windows. The inn was far enough out from anywhere that I could fly in the field behind the inn and I was itching to get on my broom having not flown for more than two months.

That night Fleur was over to celebrate moving in and we spent the evening trying to come up with names for the place. A wizarding home should have a name they said, especially if you want a floo connection. I suspected Harry didn't but he would like to have the option.

"The Inn." I suggested having been mentally calling it that since Harry bought it.

"Boring, and I don't want people thinking they can just stay over." Harry protested.

"Oh, so I am not welcome?" Fleur asked pretending to be hurt.

"You basically live here already. We both know you hate your own flat." Harry countered.

"It's so cold and empty." Fleur responded more to herself than to me or Harry.

"What about the Dreadfort then." I offered. "You wanted not boring."

"That's just awful, it's not homely at all." Harry retorted

"The Warren, like the Burrow but letting out your Hufflepuff side." I offered tongue in cheek.

"I think the Bones manor might be called that and I didn't know I even had a Hufflepuff side." Harry replied.

"Haven." Fleur offered. "It's peaceful and quiet out here it's a haven from the city and all those people with nothing better to do than ogle what they can never have."

"Better but not sure if that's it." Harry replied stretching out on a sofa in front of the fire. Fleur who had been pouring herself a drink at the bar sat in front of him resting her back on his chest.

"Oaken retreat." I suggested "The whole place is oak and as Fleur said it is a haven of sorts."

"What do you think?" Harry asked Fleur.

"It works."

"Not overly creative but I'm too tired to think of something better." Harry retorted.

"You ready for school?" Fleur asked me.

"I think so. Its going to be strange, this has been the best summer of my life so far. Its definitely going to be strange going back to Hogwarts."

"How do you think they will react to what happened at the end of last year?" Fleur asked. I could hear the concern in her voice even through the charm she had on which tended to flatten out her voice.

"I don't know. The school tends to love drama so I reckon I'll get stared at more than ever but no one will be brave enough to ask what happened." It was something I was really not looking forward to. This summer I had begun to if not forget the tournament move on from it. Cedric was dead, I knew that and the Prophet was not subtly suggesting I was the reason. They weren't completely wrong either, I could have taken the cup alone and he would have lived. Thinking like that never helped anyone though so I had tried to keep busy this summer.

"If you want to write to me I would like it." Fleur offered quietly. I felt a surge of affection towards the French witch then. I knew she didn't have many friends, it was hard for her to be friends with other girls who were often extremely envious of her. Boys were worse when they often glazed over and tried to impress her.

"Of course I will if you don't mind. I doubt Harry would provide me with good letters and I would be nice to hear from you."

We talked for a little while longer before we all headed to bed. It took me slightly longer to get to sleep than normal due to the new bed but I slept well. Fleur had left by the time I was up and Harry was seated at the table in the dinning room. It was strange to eat meals at a proper table again but I couldn't say it was a bad thing. Jeevesy definitely approved but that might be because he enjoyed setting the table up. The elf popped in to take my breakfast order and disappeared leaving me with Harry.

"So still not sleeping with Fleur?" I joked.

"I have never denied sleeping with her. It is however all we do, sometimes its just nice to take comfort in another's presence. It started one night when we were talking over wine too late and she stayed, it was nice enough we've never stopped doing it. I know she's never done anything more and I'm not going to push anything." Harry replied. "I'm doing okay with this whatever it is I'm not going to rock the boat. Things have been crazy for me and she's been a constant since I arrived here. You're not the same, you're leaving for Hogwarts and then you're at the forefront of the fight while I'm planning on keeping out of it. Maybe with her I can start to rebuild."

"You're not normally this open in the morning?" I checked.

"I haven't taken my walk. I got up late."

"Wild night." I asked smirking.

"You seem very interested in me and Fleur. You into her? I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure she's into men." Harry replied.

"No." I scoffed. Fleur was beautiful but I was not that way inclined.

"Well then give us some privacy, if you wanted to know you could just browse her thoughts."

"I have standards." I retorted. Harry just looked at me as if I was an animal that had done something amusing.

After breakfast Harry showed me the potions lab he had set up and gave me a day long crash course in poisons and antidotes which was as alarming as informative. I was a little bit scared about how much he knew about them.

The next day I got up early and went flying, it was good to be back on my broom leaving the ground and the struggles of being me behind. Doing it this early and having it not cut out any of my day gave me a new appreciation of Harry's walks. It wasn't running away it was just its own little world where for the next hour nothing mattered.

Coming back down to Earth I felt refreshed and that feeling lasted most of the morning spent going over the charms used in previous years. It was reassuring how quickly I was able to get the spells down again. The afternoon was spent on transfiguration but that was slower. I asked Harry for tips and he gave me a strange look and reminded me that I should wish it to be and then make it so. Helpful as ever, the struggles he must have as a prodigy trying to remember not all of us are as brilliant as he claimed to be.

Fleur was much more helpful when she arrived that evening and was a saint still wanting to help me despite having worked hard all day long now Harry had run out of excuses to keep her to himself. She made me hash out exact details before I began the spell, I had to know exactly what I wanted in a way similar to apparition transfiguration required a clear outlook and a lot of determination. Harry who walked past told us a story of an debate between Flitwick, Dumbledore and McGonagall about which subject required the most creativity and allowed the most personal touch. Harry and Dumbledore both felt transfiguration allowed the creation of meaningful things with personal touches whereas McGonagall preferred a more clinical and exact approach. Charms was a little more liberal with what was required meaning spells often took on a touch of their caster. Cleaning charms for example where often rough and abrasive if the caster was whereas a kind gentle soul often gave a more delicate touch to the spell. I wasn't sure where I stood on the subject. I remembered Harry's conjured mirror which had the engraving on the back which seemed far more personal than the feel of a spell but was that a personal touch or a desire, an expression of what you wanted regardless of who you were. Or was that a reflection on the person in an extremely personal way. Either way the debate could last hours but wasn't helping me get better.

With five days left before I left to Hogwarts Harry decided that I should learn some basic ways to fight. It was something I'd been hoping for since he abducted me. I knew that it wouldn't make me a master dueller or anything but I was excited when he led me to the field where I'd learnt to apparate. It wasn't what I expected at all. It hurt more.

On the walk there he reminded me of what happened when he first apparate me to the flat and how I was so easily caught unaware. I really should have expected the flash of red light that followed the reminder. I was enervated quickly after that and had my wand out straight away. I stood and raised my wand ready to cast my first spell at him but he cast a simple finite which ended up with me falling down a hole. Apparently, he had magically dug it while I was stunned, vanished the dirt except for the grass which he put a hover charm on. When I woke and pulled my wand he ended the hover charm and sent me plummeting as he called down a reminder that I shouldn't fight until I've already won. When I apparated out of the hole he apparated instantly and cast another stunner at me while I got my bearings back. I was enervated with the reminder to never hesitate.

I complained that none of it was fair to have the fact life wasn't fair thrown back at me. The next round I cast a stunner at him, he swatted it away contemptuously and cast a spell at me. I wasn't sure what it was but looking at it was the wrong decision as it was so bright I couldn't see. I had enough time to shout "Not again," before the stunner hit me. When I was rennervated again I asked him what he could do better, he sent a stinging hex at me, apparently, any time I was talking I wasn't winning. Talking is done my insane megalomaniacs or those who are losing and stalling for time. I cast a stunner at him but he apparated away, I tried to apparate but his knife was already in place.

"Need to get faster at that." He stated unnecessarily.

"I know." I stated as I tried to reach for my own knife. He stepped back and apparated away before I could spin and curse him or stab him. Suddenly I felt a stinging hex hit me in the back.

"I think everyone saw that spin coming." He remarked. I growled slightly. "Its good having strong basics to fall back on under pressure but being predictable is bad."

I cast another stunner at him while he was talking. He swatted it away and flicked back sending one at me. I cast a shield charm but he just took the initiative and casted something else. I wasn't sure what it was until the ground around me seemed to rise up like an orange peel in reverse trapping me in a bubble. It got far worse when water started to pour in from the top. Panicking I was sure if I should apparate out or try and blast my way out. The blasting idea got worse when Harry loudly cast the unbreakable charm suggesting I would have to undo that before I could break though.

"Is it safe to apparate out?" I called hoping the panic didn't make it into my tone.

"Should be but if you aren't focused, if you're panicking you might splinch. It would be easier if you just cancelled the transfiguration."

I wasn't sure how to do that so I took a deep breath and focused with all my might on apparating. Thankfully I made it in one piece but I was cold wet and miserable.

"Have you learnt anything yet?" Harry asked.

"Don't fight people you can't beat." I responded angrily. "You've just driven that home but how do I get better?"

"Getting faster with apparating is useful but anywhere like Hogwarts with an anti-apparition jinx in place rendered that pointless. A bigger spell repertoire is a bonus but only if you know how to use them. There aren't free win spells. The closest is the unforgivables because they can't be shielded against. You need to be less well mannered, don't take it in turns to cast, if someone casts a shield or something else that forces them to pause you take advantage. Learn to do just enough don't ever waste time, cut corners where its safe to. Do you need a strong shield or does it need to just take one spell and you can let if fade, if so don't hold it let it take the spell and already be casting something else. Transfiguration is a battle of creativity more than anything else, animation is important and relies on creativity but you need to learn how to do control them and do other stuff or else it's pointless."

"So what do I do."

"There aren't shortcuts, if you want to get better you work hard. Dumbledore has said he'd help and if you want to see transfiguration in battle he's the best, Flitwick is a duellist which means he's fast but he instinctively holds back and plays around rules. Snape is a barstard but he knows his stuff and would punish your every mistake. If you want to learn how to survive fight with Snape because he won't hold back, he would enjoy cursing you."

"Any books you can recommend?" I asked not wanting to go to Snape.

"If you think books will help you then you have no clue what you're doing." Harry replied. "I'm grabbing lunch now." He declared before walking back inside.

I trudged inside too, I wanted a shower, a warm one. The whole time I was under the water I kept thinking back to how outclassed I'd been. I was top of the year in Defence but that meant nothing, I could cast certain spells in a classroom environment out in the real world it didn't seem to be the spells that mattered too much it seemed far more about timing. Finding windows to attack and minimising the time you had to defend for. Attacking opened you up for a counter attack but only if your attack was something that could be ignored or dealt with quickly. Silent casting was a must, it was faster and the surprise was potentially huge. Simple spells had a place, they could come incredibly fast and required far less focus than the big stuff. Transfiguration can't be shielded against and you need to learn how to counter it differently but it seemed slow.

The afternoon we when back out in the garden. They time was passed playing a strange form of tennis crossed with dodgeball using stinging hexes. Harry claimed that shielding was time inefficient and should only be used when it had to. Swatting away spells meant the wand was in constant motion and therefore could be used to retaliate. It started slowly as I took some time to get used to the basic principle but I have fantastic hand eye co-ordination so it wasn't long before I started deflecting the vast majority. It escalated quickly, every spare moment more hexes were added, if I wasted any time making an inefficient movement then I would have to focus purely on defence as I would give Harry a window to cast again. Every part of me was now stinging but I was able to sharpen up some flicking motions and fire of some hexes in retaliation even if most of the time I had to focus on deflecting. The most annoying moment was when Harry stepped to the side giving him the room to swat the spell right back at me, something he'd never have the time to do normally but I was too shocked it actually worked to deal with it, I took the spell to my face and everything stung. I had received a lesson on the economy of motion. It wasn't just that he was faster than me, he was so much more efficient he never moved more than he had to, he was always balanced whereas I had been all over the place.

That evening I went straight to bed after dinner wanting to rest. Stinging hexes were easy to fix but the aching of hard work was something else. I slept well that night. I woke late the next morning and trudged down to have some breakfast. I only had a few days left here and I really wanted to make the most of it. Harry was willing to spend the morning repeating the swatting exercise from yesterday and I felt I did a bit better. I gave up trying to send anything back at him for the time being and focus exclusively on improving my defence. It was good until Harry cast and aguamenti, a spell I couldn't deflect. His reasoning was to keep me alert and I had to admit I had been too focused on what I was doing to pay attention to what he was doing but I suspected he'd just got bored and thrown it in there because he'd find it funny. That arse.

In the afternoon Harry took me into one of the other bedrooms, he shrunk all the furniture and levitated it to the side leaving us in a relatively clear space. He then taught me a spell to make surfaces repel spells. It wasn't used in duelling circuits because it reflected the spells instead of dissipating them but was instead used to line prison cells or anywhere else where people would be encouraged not to use magic accidental or otherwise. I could cast a limited number of spells at it and it would bounce off and fly back at me. It was fast but with enough distance between me and the wall I could use it to simulate the training I had done with Harry by myself. It was inferior but useable and meant I could practice at Hogwarts without needing to find someone to cast spells at me and I only trusted a couple of people to point a wand at me. It took me a while to get the hang of it but I think I could do it again.

In the evening, Fleur helped me revise any of the spells from the last few years that required another person such as the cheering charm. Fleur's speciality was charms and she could give me some alternate explanations that made things make more sense, Flitwick was great but he did have to cater to an entire class, I just happened to have the best student Beauxbatons had produced in a good few years as a tutor.

September the first would be a Friday this year and I would have the weekend to settle down in Hogwarts before classes started. It did however mean Fleur would be at work everyday and I would only see her in the evening and Harry had retreated to his potions lab this morning. I could go down there and practice but I wanted to save my ingredients for the school year. Instead I was left with the choice of more reading or finding something to practice. Harry and Fleur both were big believers in doing magic. I knew they both studied hard when they needed to but that was to get the best grades not to get better at magic. Alternatively, I could do some plotting about what a victory should look like but I didn't understand the problems well enough to suggest solutions. I decided to go flying for the morning, something relaxing so I could focus better in the afternoon. It would let me clear my head and work out what I wanted to do. While up in the air I started to consider what I needed to do. I knew that I wasn't ready, I could maybe use some poisons but they weren't reliable in the same way standing before the man and blasting him with your wand was. It would take years to become Voldemort's equal with a wand, I could maybe, in a few years survive and maybe if others helped I could win but I wasn't sure I wanted to endanger other people that way. I could get better, I could maybe be as good as Harry. I needed some way to cheat, Harry had told me there were no free win spells in a fight but he also told me never to fight a fight I could lose. Either I would never fight Voldemort or I would have to have in so far in my favour he would never fight. Then again, both Harry and Dumbledore agreed that Tom was arrogant and his pride could always be counted on. I'd have to lure him to somewhere where I had a trap, or some other thing that gave me an edge. How, or what the edge would be I wasn't sure but it seemed working that out and setting it up would be what I needed to do this year. Dumbledore said he'd help, maybe he'd have a few ideas. If I could trust Snape the vindictive git almost certainly could think of something nasty. Harry had demonstrated the benefits of a rigged battlefield nicely the other day but he'd known exactly where I would stand.

That afternoon I spent some time in the empty bedroom bouncing spells off the wall. Oliver Wood, my former quidditch captain had always told me to improve I should focus on one thing until I could do it without thinking and then the next thing as the first will just be part of my game and I won't have to think about it. If I could rely on my defence without thinking I could focus on finding windows to attack. Again and again I spent spell after spell against the wall and deflected the rebound. I considered casting the repelling spell on some of the other walls to have spells coming at me from different directions but I decided that maybe I should get better at doing it from a single direction first.

Harry and I had a few more sessions but much of my time was spent preparing for Hogwarts. I wanted to make sure I was organised. I prepared my notes, annotated my textbooks, retrieved my copy of the official defence textbook and my disguised one and I had got my summer homework set aside ready to be handed in.

On the last day before I went to Hogwarts Harry woke me early. He was carrying a package which he deposited on my bed.

"Good morning to you." I grumbled sleepily.

"Up, its your last day." Harry retorted. I groaned and started to move.

"What's this then?" I asked, gesturing towards the package.

"I may have taken a bit more than just dead Harry's things." Harry offered. Suddenly the package became a lot more interesting. I reached over and started to unwrap it. A familiar stone bowl was revealed.

"You stole Dumbledore's pensive?" I asked shocked.

"He clearly wasn't using it properly. Now I have no use for two but they are very rare and incredibly valuable. Do not let anyone know you have one, use it whenever you want, to help with your education of to view other people's memories of our parents it doesn't matter just don't make me regret giving this to you." Harry explained.

I was shocked, a pensive was one of those magical objects that had near limitless potential. Memories could be preserved from years past to be viewed again. Most people never interacted with one and I know knew of three. Possibly the only three in Britain, I suspected the ministry had at least one of their own but had no proof.

"There is another gift I have for you." Harry reluctantly admitted. Hearing his tone I looked at him my expression asking for clarification. "It's a curse, figuratively and literally. The only spell I have ever created and I will never teach it to someone not a Potter and neither will you."

"I understand." I replied not knowing if I truly did. It was a secret that much I understood but why would Harry, a man normally so proud of his achievements be so hesitant about this?

"Get up and meet me in the garden." Harry instructed and left the room. I scrambled around the room getting dressed quickly and only slowing to carefully put the pensive in my trunk. Jeevesy popped into my room to leave a bacon sandwich which I scoffed down as I headed outside.

Harry was standing staring dramatically off into the distance, sticking with this he didn't turn when he heard me approach so I ended up standing next to him looking out into the distance.

"I told you there are no free win spells. That being said some spells are more effective than others. One night after Dumbledore died I drank a lot of firewiskey and did something too useful for me to forget but I am not proud of." Harry started. I nodded, a levitation charm generally was less useful than a curse or hex in a fight, not that there wouldn't be times it might be useful, simply that more often the curse would be useful. "The killing curse goes through shields and leaves an untouched dead body. No muggle could ever tell why they were dead, they just are. It does however have a large weakness that reduces its usefulness in a one on one scenario. Do you know it?"

I took my time to think. "It takes a lot of focus?" I checked. If there was one thing I had noticed it was simple spells were useful because you could do them without thinking, school corridor hexes and jinxes could be cast while anything happened and while not often capable of being a finishing blow they created windows of opportunity.

"It does but there are some evil people out there that have cast it so much its like breathing to them. No the weakness is it must be cast verbally and it has a long incantation." Harry explained. "I decided that if I wanted a curse to kill someone it had to have a much shorter incantation so I could cast it faster. The killing curse leaves no mark but for me that wasn't necessary so I drunkenly looked up the fastest way for someone to die. While some fatal curses leave you dying in agony I wanted something like the killing curse that meant you'd be dead before you hit the ground. Did you know that some brain aneurisms take seconds to kill?"

I shook my head part horrified part intrigued.

"I created a spell, a single syllable that causes near instant death, the wand motion a simple twist like you're using your wand as a screwdriver. For the life of me I can barely make sense of the notes I made that night but I did it and it worked. Now I was drunk when I created the spell and tied it to the incantation so don't judge me. It needs to be cast vocally for an near instant death, silently will let them live for a few minutes which might be enough for a medic to save them."

"Is spell creation hard?" I asked trying to change the morbid tone.

"Not particularly but its more often alteration, most people never see the point we can do almost everything magically already. Snape for example created a nasty curse when he was at school. It's a derivation of a cutting curse, now consider the cutting curse to be like a cricket bat. You can play cricket with it and in a desperate time it makes a crude weapon. Now keeping with the metaphor Snape stuck nails in his bat and wrapped it in barbed wire, it is now a more effective weapon but completely unsuitable for playing cricket. Why doesn't everyone do this? Snape created a nasty cricket bat, the killing curse is a gun with no need for ammunition, we have a hundred cutting curses, a thousand that cause pain and suffering but only one that causes instant death. The killing curse works on a level of magic none of us understand. My curse can be stopped by shields, the unforgivable can't and I don't really know why." Answered Harry.

"This curse?" I prompted, I wasn't sure I wanted to learn it but it seemed like Harry thought it was important.

"Right. Now I was drunk so the incantation is 'pew' I'd watched Star Wars and thought it would be cool to gun Death Eaters down with laser beams and the sound effects make everything cooler. I cannot express how much I regret that choice. The wand motion is a quarter twist clockwise and a small thrust forward. The curse is derived from the entrails expelling curse but modified to work on the brain, you are looking to violently tear apart all of the blood vessels in the target's brain. For this reason, the curse has no effect on non-living things." Harry explained and conjured a sheep. I looked at the sheep suddenly realising what he wanted me to do.

"You want me to?" I spluttered

"Its not even real but yes."

I turned my attention to the sheep, I noticed my hand was shaking a lot when it was pointed at the innocent animal who had been nothing but air moments before.

"You have to focus, occlumency levels of focus on your will, then make it so." Instructed Harry.

"Pew." I cast feeling slightly ridiculous, I could see why he regretted it. There was no way something as serious as death should be named after a sound effect. Nothing happened.

"Visualise, will it to be so. You have to want to rupture the brain." Harry intoned coldly.

I took a few deep breaths focusing on what I wanted I surprised any feelings of guilt focusing objectively on the desired result. I cast again, a flash of dark silver light and the sheep collapsed. Harry walked over.

"It's still alive, you must have hesitated. Not a bad effort but it's being needlessly cruel. Its suffering now." Harry vanished the dying sheep and conjured another. "Again." I could tell he was enjoying this as little as I was but I think we both understood this was an edge, a small edge a second saved that might mean I walked away alive

I cast again, more forcefully, I didn't want it to suffer I wanted it dead before it hit the ground, dead before it could feel the pain. The sheep dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. I turned to the side and threw up.

"The mind arts can make you a monster, they can allow you to ignore any morals you have. Never forget how horrifying this is else you really have become that which you hate. I told you this war would have your soul and I hope you understand that now." Harry spoke quietly. I heard him walk back to the house leaving me with the corpse of the sheep and my vomit.

It took me some time to get myself together but I did. Vanishing was a fifth-year spell that would likely be tested on my OWL thankfully it was one Harry and Fleur both considered very useful so I could successfully remove the vomit and corpse before heading inside.

Harry was waiting in the living room, his pensive out on the table, a vial of memories next to it. I sat opposite not saying anything, wondering what this was going to be.

"You got the curse on your third go. That's probably good but it'll be harder on a real person. This memory is completely optional, its not something I'm proud of. If you remember in Dumbledore's office I said I was the Fist of the Night, this memory is why the Prophet gave me that name."

I sat for a moment in indecision. It seemed I could receive a demonstration in how to fight but it would be sickening. I picked up the vial and emptied it into the pensive. I entered the memory deciding that if I wanted to see what I had to do, I couldn't ever complain about wanting to get involved if I shied away from this.

The memory was dark, it was night time I was looking at a huge manor house in the country. I jumped when Harry appeared next to me looking sombre.

"I might as well give you a commentary, it'll make more sense." Harry explained but he seemed uncomfortable.

I nodded. Harry pointed to a spot next to me where I noticed a slight shimmer, I recognised it as a disillusionment charm. We followed the shimmer as it got closer to the manor.

"This was during my sixth year, Snape told me about a meeting of the inner circle. They were preparing to make an approach to a colony of vampires so several were in the same place along with some lesser Death Eaters providing security. I wanted information from the inner circle, if I could get one or two alive and pump them with veritaserum then I could get closer to a fight with Voldemort. I was too angry with the world to do this too sensibly but I wanted revenge."

As Harry got to the front door he dispelled his charm. He was wearing black trousers, boots and a tight jumper. He was for some reason wearing mirrored sunglasses too despite the darkness. He slowly drew his wand and held it close to his body as he kneeled down before the door. Tapping door he transfigured a small section to glass allowing him to look through. He cancelled the transfiguration and reached for the door handle.

Slowly he opened the door slightly. We followed the memory as he slipped into the empty entrance hall. Faced with three choices, left, right or up a staircase Harry moved to the right.

"The meeting was probably upstairs and I wanted to makes sure they'd have no support so I wanted to clear the downstairs first." Commented the real Harry. "I had no floor plan, like I said I was careless."

Memory Harry made his way through repeating the door to glass transfiguration. It was only ever a small section, allowing him to check the room but would only be seen if someone was checking for it. On the third room he checked he reached for the door handle. Casting a silencing charm on the mechanism Harry edged the door open. We stood in a position that we could see into the room as Harry opened the door, slowly at first but he flicked it opened and cast two quick pew spells. He followed up with cushioning charm so the bodies hit the ground softly. It was then more than ever that the benefits of the pew curse or whatever Harry had officially named it were clear. The cast time was stupidly short, he'd got both curses off before the people in the room had time to turn around. Memory Harry checked the bodies for Dark Marks, confirming the marks on both of them he transfigured the bodies into small badges which he pocketed. This process repeated in two more rooms. He didn't pocket the one body that didn't have a Dark Mark on.

Those three rooms were all the people in the downstairs. Upstairs there was one room that Harry paused at. "This is the one, there are seven Death Eaters in there and two of them are facing the door." Harry explained. Memory Harry tapped his wand against the door and created a small hole which he stuck his wand into. I wasn't sure what the incantation was but Harry waited a few seconds before standing with his back against the wall close to the door handle. I could hear noise inside the room. Harry crouched slightly his wand pointed at the door. The handle turned and the door flew open. A body slumped to the ground having hit by Harry's curse the moment the door opened. A series of green flashes shot by, all killing curses but Harry was still tucked safely against the wall. He stuck his arm round the doorframe and cast the same flash of light spell he used to blind me and spun round with a volley of his curses. The mirrored glasses seemed to make sense, if they reduced the glare from the flashes of spell fire then they were worth having, I also suspected they could be enchanted in some way. I'd heard a few thuds of bodies hitting the ground but Harry was safely on the other side of the doorframe and was now transfiguring a section of the wall into glass. I took a moment to step into the doorway, safe in the knowledge this was a memory. I could see three Death Eaters still standing meaning Harry had got three in the room and one I was almost standing on in the doorway.

Harry had paused to consider his options. "I wanted at least one alive." The real Harry reminded me at my shoulder. I could see his distaste for this memory clearly.

"Are any of these people I should know?" I asked having a chance to see them in Death Eater robes but their masks were off.

"Dolohov." Harry stated coldly pointing to the oldest man in the room. "He's a nasty piece of work. Even by Death Eater standards."

Memory Harry seemed to have finished taking in the situation as he had started moving again. He cast a couple of blasting spells round through the doorway causing the Death Eaters to shield against the blast. As he stepped into the doorway he summoned a table from behind the Death Eaters. Dolohov stepped to the side but the others had it plough into them and Harry stunned them. Dolohov smiled ruefully and bowed to Harry in a mockery of a sporting duel. Dolohov struck first with a purple hex which Harry had to raise a shield against, the shield disintegrated as the spell hit and Harry was already casting a curse in retaliation. Dolohov was able to hit it with the counter curse and cast an nasty curse that used a big thrusting motion. Harry rolled slightly sideways deflecting the spell past his back shoulder and flicking back with a confundus quicker than Dolohov could recover. The spell dazed Dolohov and he didn't even try to stop the full body bind that followed. As he hit the floor Harry summoned all the wands in the room, bound in ropes the stunned Death Eaters and stood over Dolohov who was now looking extremely panicked.

"Legilimens" I heard Memory Harry whisper and Dolohov grunted in pain as it seemed Harry wasn't even trying to be delicate as he invaded the Death Eater's mind. The memory ended as Harry stunned Dolohov and started walking towards the other stunned Death Eaters.

I sat back on the sofa opposite Harry leaning back with my head in my hands as I tried to take in what I just saw. Harry had beaten multiple Death Eaters, he'd done it by catching them by surprise and finishing it in a single spell where possible.

"What did you cast through that hole?" I asked thinking about the final room.

"It was a foul smell, something similar to a dungbomb. Something to get their attention but nothing that could compromise the fight. I wanted someone to check the door so I didn't have to open it. I might have got one or two before someone retaliated but I don't know how long I would have had before they tagged me with something. This way meant one down for free and the door open all without me compromising my position.

"Why did you transfigure the bodies?"

"I lined them up in the corridor outside the DMLE with the marks exposed. Like I said I wasn't really thinking it was more about revenge. I wanted Tom to know that I could get to his followers and that I was after him." Harry explained. "I don't want you to ever have to do that but I wanted you to know how much speed and surprise matter. Also, note how I always took the time to check what I was going up against."

It was hard for me to deal with what I had just seen but I knew now that it could be done. It drove home the idea that it doesn't matter how skilled you are if someone gets you when you aren't ready. The first few Death Eaters didn't even have time to cast a spell. I had an invisibility cloak, maybe I could get a shot at Voldemort without him ever knowing. It wouldn't be fair nor honourable but then again trying to murder babies wasn't either and that never stopped him. I didn't want to be like him, I wanted to be a good person but I also wanted to live and I wanted my friends to live.

The last evening I had with Harry and Fleur was quiet. September first was an unofficial holiday in the Wizarding world and so Fleur had the next day off work to see me off at the station which I was happy about. Over the summer, she had become a close friend and I was definitely going to be writing to her. I struggled to sleep as I lay awake pondering what my friends would think of the changes to me.


	2. Hogwarts

The Hogwarts Express was always a beautiful sight. Something about the glorious red train warmed my heart but this year it was slightly dulled. Normally that train was the thing that truly took me from the Dursley's and put me firmly into the magical world. The symbolic journey it makes at the start of each year is a high point for me but now I had something to leave behind. It wasn't I'd want to stay with Harry and Fleur forever or anything but it was I was part of it, it was my family. The Weasley's were always willing to share theirs but we all knew that deep down I wasn't part of it. Standing on the platform at Kings Cross, Harry and Fleur arm in arm behind me as I stopped to take in the view I couldn't help but feel this time was different.

I was quickly onto the train and had stowed my trunk in a compartment near the back of the train. You weren't meant to but I put a locking charm on the door as I left so I could be a bit picky as to who sat with me. While much had changed for me this summer everyone else would have had weeks to gossip and if I got through an entire journey without someone asking about what happened at the end of the third task it would be a miracle. I returned to the platform to say my goodbyes to Harry and Fleur who wanted to leave before the rush and avoid too many questions. Fleur was wearing her enchanted clothing with their repelling effects but even without any kind of supernatural pull she was beautiful and some people would stare if they noticed her.

The goodbyes were short. Harry gave me a couple of final reminders or warnings. The first was to be subtle and avoid arguing with the new defence teacher, it's a fight I could never win. He when as far as to say I should try and use her. The second was that I should ignore everything and everyone that would be unlikely to be relevant. For most Hogwarts, they went to Hogwarts to go to school, I went to raise the chances I would survive the coming storm. Fleur gave me a hug and reminded me to write often and include the dates for Hogsmeade if I wouldn't mind the company. After they left I stayed on the platform. I wanted to meet the Weasleys and everyone else to show I was still alive and to stop them panicking. It was unlikely that Dumbledore saying I was fine would be enough for Mrs Weasley. It was quite a boring wait, the Weasleys being the Weasleys were running late. They burst through the barrier with less than five minutes before the train was due to depart.

In the end, I didn't have time to do much more than wave at the Weasley parents before we got onto the train. Ron seemed annoyed with me, I suspected he felt betrayed I had spent my summer away from him. He was always sensitive about Hermione or I having other friends. Hermione was too busy polishing her new prefect badge to notice the tension. If she was in anyway a people person and had her nose out of books long enough to observe people I would suspect she had noticed and was using the badge as a way of either distracting her or hiding from a possible confrontation but knowing her as well I do I knew she was in her own way as oblivious as Ron. Being prefects they had to rush to the front of the train for a meeting and stashed their trunks in a luggage rack at the end of a carriage where they could collect them later and find a compartment. It stung slightly that they were leaving me now but it wasn't their fault and I had chosen not to spend much time with them over summer. Instead I returned to my locked compartment alone, it seemed my locking charm had held and I recast it once I was inside so I could have some peace.

I rooted around in my trunk and ended up pulling out my disguised defence text which I sat to read. I was interrupted after only a few minutes. The door slid open and I was left looking at an amused blonde.

"Locking charms are naughty Potter." She reminded me in a mocking tone. She was already in her school robes, green lining giving away her house affiliation. I must have come across as a bit of an idiot because I was sure I recognised her. She was in my year, I think her name was Greengrass but I was sure there was more to it than that. She moved to leave before I got it. This was the girl from Harry's photo, younger but her.

"Wait, did you want to sit?" I asked, wanting to learn more about the person Harry had been so close to. I knew she'd be different and she was my age meaning she really was too young for him now but I wanted to get to know her a bit.

"Well Tracey got pounced on by Pansy already so I guess I could, might be interesting if nothing else." Greengrass stated before levitating her trunk into the compartment and onto the shelf. Wanting to talk to her but knowing that Ron might not take it well I threw another spell at the door as she shut it. "That wasn't a locking charm." She observed.

It wasn't, it was a mild compulsion to leave the compartment alone. If someone really wanted to open it they could but otherwise they would think of something better to do. Harry's favourite spells were very useful at times. People could find us if they really wanted to or needed to but otherwise they'd leave us alone. "You proved they are more than beatable." I remarked.

"You're not actually reading that, are you?" Greengrass asked horrified as she saw the cover of the book I was reading.

I smirked slightly and saw an opportunity to build some trust and openness. "That depends. Can you keep a secret?"

"I am a Slytherin." Greengrass replied contemptuously.

"That's not a yes." I pointed out.

"Of course I can, but why do I need to. What have you done Potter?" She enquired.

"Me, nothing. What has been done to the book however, that's another question." I pointed out, enjoying the word games.

"You're not like Malfoy claims." Greengrass observed. "So will you share or do I have to guess?"

"Malfoy 's an idiot and if you're trusting his judgement on anything my opinion of you has plummeted."

"Indeed he is but I stated what he said. I never said I had agreed with it." She retorted.

"True." I conceded, I could understand why Harry liked her. She would challenge him even if not academically. "Do I have your word that you won't tell anyone?"

"About the book?" She questioned. I nodded and she smiled. "You have my word as a Greengrass." Old families lived and died by their name so I assumed that was binding to her.

"A friend took one look at it and tore off the cover and replaced the innards with the text of another. I have the original copy in a transfigured cover somewhere in my trunk just in case."

"That sounds clever. I might have to do that to my own if I want to pass the OWLs. Father said that this year I would need to do a lot of private study, he seemed less than impressed with the new defence teacher."

I took a moment to consider what she had said. I pondered my reply before offering her my book.

"Want to have a browse?" She took the book and flicked through it.

"This looks far more interesting and informative." She observed "I think I might need my own copy."

"Confronting the Faceless." I supplied. "My friend said Umbridge is awful. Dumbledore wasn't happy with her at all but the ministry backed him into a corner."

"Oh, tell me more." Greengrass instructed her eyes lighting up and the thought of interesting news.

"Well, I saw Dumbledore briefly over summer. He was upset about her appointment. He didn't pick her. Everything I've heard suggests she's awful, and judging by the book she's set she isn't going to be teaching us anything."

The blonde girl fixed me with an intense look as she seemed to judge what I had said and was assessing if she felt she could trust it.

"Father says Fudge is on the warpath against Dumbledore and he has stripped him of many of his titles. I suppose this teacher is likely meant to watch Dumbledore and control him more than teach us." Greengrass remarked.

"I saw some of that in the Prophet but mostly I'm a bit out of touch." I admitted.

"Oh yes. It is said you live with muggles." She couldn't quite contain her sneer but I could tell it wasn't directed at me, more the Dursley's and I couldn't find it within me to defend them.

"Normally I do but this holiday I got a bit of a break. I ended up staying with a friend but he dislikes the Prophet." I wasn't sure if Harry wanted me to say anything about him but I doubted that I could keep everything from Ron and Hermione so why bother hiding it at all. If I tried to hide it and it leaked it would look suspicious whereas if I was open with it people wouldn't think much of it and move on.

"Weasel?" She enquired. I bit back a retort. Ron and the twins weren't exactly popular in Slytherin circles. I couldn't imagine how much they might be disliked by the regular victims of their pranks. I shook my head and she took a moment to look out of the window and ponder what had been said.

I turned and looked, countryside was flying past. It was likely that Ron and Hermione were out of their meeting so either they would be looking for me or they had sat somewhere else.

"What do you think of Dumbledore saying you-know-who is back?" Greengrass asked carefully, there was a forced casualness to it but I could see she was listening with keen interest.

"I think that its irrelevant for now. He either is or he isn't. Does it matter while we're in Hogwarts?" I replied as neutrally as possible. She might have supported Harry but I don't know the details nor how different she was now so I didn't want to say too much.

"That was almost a good answer. Don't worry, its basically an open secret within Slytherin. Too many brats with fathers branded like cattle for it not to have leaked out. Have you ever known Draco not to boast or attempt to wield the power he assumes his father grants him?"

"I take it you disapprove of their choices." I chanced.

"Regardless of my feelings towards their cause and ideals I'm disgusted by their methods." Greengrass confirmed.

"If you already knew, why did you ask?" I asked her.

"Dumbledore said things on your behalf. The Prophet has attacked you both for it but you have not been quoted saying anything. You haven't committed yourself to either side, at least in the public arena." Greengrass explained.

"So people don't think I want to stop him?" I checked.

"I'm sure all of those that matter know, but the chattering masses. Those who will watch and gossip but never stand up for either side have no proof."

I nodded in acceptance. "Which part do you fit into?"

"That's rather a personal question, isn't it?" Greengrass remarked with a smirk.

"Perhaps." I conceded but I waited. There was a long pause before Greengrass felt the need to say anymore.

"I've already said I don't agree with their methods. My family has stayed out of this conflict the best it can. Father is already shifting much of our business interests abroad. I suspect we shall join the winning side which mean, for now at least, I have no side. I hold those who wouldn't stand up for their beliefs in contempt but accept that we must at times be pragmatic whenever we are not completely committed."

"And if I promised, on my word as a Potter not to say anymore would you be willing to tell me how you feel?" I asked, willing to offer the promise she made earlier. "Regardless of how you and you're family act I'd be interested."

"You're far more interesting that I expected Potter. We haven't even got into the rumours of your adventures and this is more fun than Pansy ever is."

I stayed quiet and let her think through if she wanted to reveal her feelings. I'd offered my word and I would keep it because I doubted that I could use her views at all nor could I see a reason for using them.

"I guess I find some muggleborn offensive. Not muggleborns or muggles as an idea but some of them make it difficult not to dislike them. They come into our world and expect us to change for them when they should be the ones adapting. I'm not saying we're perfect but we are the way we are and they can adapt or leave. We were here first, it's our world that they are coming into."

I was surprised that Greengrass gave her opinions after a pause that long. I thought the moment had passed and we were waiting for another topic to crop up.

"Thank you." I felt I needed to acknowledge that she had shared something very personal and depending on how extreme other people's views were it could be dangerous to hold certain views. I took the time to think through what she had said. Frankly it was rather moderate and if more people were like her thinks would probably be much better. I suspected this was rather similar to Harry's views.

"If Death Eaters come after me I'll haunt you Potter." She joked but there was a slightly nervous undertone to it.

"I can't say I find much to disagree with. So long as you agree that there is room for improvement."

"With Fudge and Malfoy Sr involved it couldn't get much worse, could it?" Greengrass asked with a genuine smile. Smiling like that, like she was in the photo I could see she was beautiful. I would have felt bad were he not seemingly happy with his new French friend. Harry would never admit to sulking, he would claim to have moved on as much as he could. To him she was dead, the girl opposite me was someone completely different.

"Does Snape give secret potions lessons to Slytherins?" I asked suddenly. It was rumour that had gone round Gryffindor more than once.

"No, he does however, put up the syllabus in the common room and drop heavy hints about reading up." Greengrass answered with a smile. I couldn't help but grin in return. "Would you tell me about your adventures?" My grin lessened but I suppose it wasn't unreasonable.

"Looking back I can see why some people call them adventures. At the time they were far more terrifying, I just always felt I had to do it. It was always the right thing to do. What do you know, I don't know what the rumours are?"

"In your first year Quirrel tried to steal something. Nobody ever saw him again and he wasn't tried in court. In second year you found the Chamber of Secrets, oh and flew to school in a car. Third year you fought a hundred dementors and possibly Sirius Black. Fourth year, well you probably don't want to talk about that." Greengrass supplied. I sighed deeply before giving her some more details. It was dark by the time she ran out of questions and I quickly changed into my robes. It was strange, if you'd told me a year ago I'd have had an enjoyable train ride alone with a blonde Slytherin I'd have laughed at you.

We even shared a carriage up to the school together along with a couple of second year Hufflepuffs who seemed terrified of us. We split up in the Entrance Hall so I could find Ron and Hermione, I now considered Greengrass a friend but there was a chance we wouldn't speak again given house tensions and I wouldn't want to make things uncomfortable for her. Maybe we'd catch up some time in the library but otherwise we would be rivals.

Ron and Hermione came into the hall with Neville, Ginny and a girl in Ravenclaw robes who looked like she might be on some rather illicit substances. That or she'd lost her gobstones somewhere along the way. Why on Earth Wizards thought they were improving marbles by making them spit goo I don't know but oh well.

"Rose, where have you been?" Hermione asked, her lips thinning as she tried to channel McGonagall. Instead of looking severe she just looked part nervous part plain silly.

"I was on the train, I had a compartment but you guys never showed up." I said, speaking nothing but the truth, perhaps not all of it but I told no lie.

Ron and Hermione shared a slightly guilty look.

"We found Neville, Luna and Ginny. We thought you'd have sat with them. When you weren't we thought you were brooding." Hermione attempted to explain. Considering how often she comments on Ron's lack of tact with the emotional range of a teaspoon she might want to think about how she is often as blunt as one.

"I had a compartment since before you were on the station. I went back there after you went to your meeting." I had to bite back adding that if they weren't so late they could have stashed their trunks with me.

"Yes well," Hermione flustered trying to think of someway of moving past this without admitting she had been wrong.

"Leave it, I'm hungry." Ron instructed and started to walk towards the Great Hall. We followed as we were meant to be going in there anyway. I got a kind smile from the Headmaster as I walked past. I had to wonder how he was going to help me this year. As I sat at the Gryffindor table I glanced along the staff table. There was a pink blob that looked like a failed human transfiguration project sitting up at the table. It definitely had toad like features and a sneer that I suspected promised only bad things. Given what I've heard I concluded this was our new Defence teacher. I would have to wait until class to see what she would actually be like. Harry had made it clear I couldn't fight her in anyway because I couldn't beat her and if you can't beat them you join them. I would have to do my best to work with her not against her. I doubted my friends would take it well but objectively I would rather have the ministry backing me than two school children regardless of how friendly we were.

The sorting was thankfully quick and the ministry witch interrupted Dumbledore's welcome speech. The way she spoke grated on my ears but it made me more determined to speak with her. I had been planning on observing for a while but she had sent me a malicious glare midway through the speech. I use my cloak to speak to Dumbledore tonight and then over the weekend before class started I would approach her. It would catch her by surprise. I could then come out in support of the Ministry and sell out Lockhart and the like to support her. Maybe I could say I was hoping to join the aurors and would been keen to train with one, maybe I'd even get one of Dumbledore's pet aurors. Of course, she could be suspicious so I'd have to do it slowly. Get on her side for a while before requesting anything.

The feast was as delicious a normal but the hall seemed slightly quieter than normal. It seemed the hall was divided in those that believed me and those that didn't either way there was a tension in the hall. Hagrid didn't show up at all during the meal which was strange. I didn't want to ask Ron or Hermione as if they knew about him being on Order business they couldn't exactly said it in the middle of the hall, or at least Hermione wouldn't, Ron might and that could be worse.

The walk back to the common room was quiet. Hermione was trying to tell us that the ministry was planning on interfering at Hogwarts. I didn't say anything as all I wanted to do was point out that they already had. Ron was indulging her and allowing her to speak. At times I wondered if he was cleverer than people realised and tended to ask dumb questions just to let Hermione feel good.

Inside the common room I became very aware of the number of eyes on me, almost expectant expressions as if they expected me to give some kind of speech. Instead I walked straight up to my dorm. I wanted to grab my cloak and visit Dumbledore before anything else. Nobody else was up there so I drew my curtains around my empty bed hoping that the others would respect my privacy and leave the bed alone. A desperate hope with Lavender and Parvati but they might be a little bit scared of me after everything that's happened and that might buy me some time.

Sneaking out of the common room was easier than expected. Normally we waited until everyone had gone to bed but my return to the common room luckily coincided with a couple of seventh years who had the first prefect rounds of the year. I was therefore able to bypass having the portrait open itself. It was still too early for the professors to be roaming the halls so I had no trouble getting to the headmaster's office.

"Fredo." I tried. Thankfully the password hadn't changed so I was able to slip past the gargoyle and onto the rotating staircase up to the Headmaster's office. I took off my cloak assuming he wouldn't have any guests. Most of the heads of houses would be managing their houses and there was little reason for anyone else to want to see the Headmaster. I knocked on the door and was quickly invited in.

"Good evening Miss Potter, I admit I was expecting to speak to you but this is earlier than I predicted." Dumbledore greeted me from behind his desk.

"Professor." I replied sitting opposite him.

"What can I do for you this evening Miss Potter?" Enquired the Headmaster.

"I have some questions and a few ideas I'd like your input on." I explained.

"Then by all means, ask awake and I shall endeavour to aide you." Replied Dumbledore.

"Over the holiday you'd said you would help me. Could you explain what you meant?" I started. It wasn't the only thing I wanted to ask about by any means but it might affect my plans.

"Your tutor is likely to have expressed doubt that you could become Tom's equal with a wand without years of practice. I doubt you want to hear this but I believe that too. The prophecy mentions a power the Dark Lord knows not. I knew Tom as a student and forgive me but he far surpassed you academically which leads me to believe this power is something simple, something that cannot be researched or studied in the manner at which Tom is so adept. I believe this power to be love." Dumbledore stated.

"Love?" I questioned. I couldn't help but wonder at what he meant by it. I knew little of love, I had observed it like a scientist. From the outside and without directing it but since that Halloween night I doubted I had been truly loved nor had I loved.

"There is a room, deep within the department of Mysteries that stays locked at all times. There they once tried to study love but the power was too much. No magic can equal love, as your mother proved all those years ago." Dumbledore explained.

"How does that help me?" I asked confused.

"If you remember my original plan, questionable I admit, you were to willingly sacrifice yourself allowing the soul fragment within you to die will blessing everyone else with the same protection your mother gifted to you. Now I think we can agree that this is not ideal anymore, too many things can go wrong and the soul fragment has been dealt with. I would like to spend this year exploring some of the more vague, esoteric magics of the world. Things Tom would deem pointless and would have overlooked. Powers, he would know not." Dumbledore continued.

"So, you're looking for a free-win spell?" I questioned. Harry had convinced me there was no such thing.

"The sort of magic I would like us to explore is far less about spells, far more about feelings and intent. I hope to find much, I hear the doubt in your voice and I understand. You have been mentored by someone who, from what I can tell, is the quintessential Slytherin. His approach will be more pragmatic and less grand than mine. He will stick to what can be understood and what can be planned around. I admire that and doubt I could aid it and therefore will help explore alternate options."

I nodded in understanding. It would either work and make things easier or we'd go with Harry's methods. This was a plan B that if something good came up could be a new plan A.

"Okay, I have some more questions." Dumbledore nodded and gestured for me to continue. "You once told me we would, at times, have to choose between what is right and what is easy."

"I did. Alas with your knowledge now I suspect it sounds like I am pushing you towards the sacrifice I had planned you to make." Dumbledore sighed.

"I hadn't thought about it that way." I admitted. "Anyway, what should I do if something seems right and is easy but there is another option that would be much harder and arguably less righteous but perhaps gives a better chance of success?"

"Rose, my dear, it seems we have spoken too much together. We speak in vague hypotheticals that answer nothing and allow others to find their own meaning, tonight I shall do my best to be more direct and up front. Tell me what you are thinking." Dumbledore offered.

"Umbridge." I explained. "Is here because of the statements you've made about Tom." Dumbledore nodded in confirmation. "I haven't said anything. People have assumed I'm supporting you but I haven't said anything."

"You wish to tell Professor Umbridge that I have taken liberties and you have not said anything. You wish to direct her against me and in doing so shield yourself." Dumbledore surmised.

"If you've read the text she's set then you'd know she's not planning on teaching us anything. I was thinking that I could tell her I wanted to be an auror. If I didn't argue with her, if I dangled the idea of the-girl-who-lived as a ministry minion in front of her, then maybe I could get tutored by an auror instead of regular classes." I said trying to justify myself.

"I understand. I also understand why you feel so conflicted. Your friends will feel betrayed, you are a Gryffindor or at least you have always been. They will all expect you to stand your ground and fight. If you outmanoeuvre her then it is unlikely they will understand. Fighting back might seem right but it is the easy option is it not? If you were successful in getting an auror tutor it might well help you stay alive and perhaps I could get Kingsley or Miss Tonks assigned to you. That being said, it hinges on Madam Umbridge requesting one for you. She may feel confident in the task herself. You will also have both sides of the school against you. Your friends will feel betrayed and those that support Tom will not change their mind, you are an obstacle for them, nothing more." Dumbledore responded as he stroked his beard absently, clearly thinking.

"Am I trying to be too clever?" I asked. Dumbledore smiled kindly at me.

"Possibly but it is an idea worthy of consideration. What of those on the fence, those who are willing to listen to your words? If they hear you denying it then they will lose their faith in me and be unprepared. It will also hurt you were Tom to go public with his return. You may be the one to defeat Tom in the end but your legacy might be what defeats his supporters."

"So you would advise against it." I checked reluctantly. Dumbledore smirked, I'd never seen the expression on his face before so confused for a moment.

"Oh no, I think it merely needs an additional layer. I think you should approach Professor Umbridge with the idea but instead of supporting her you tell her you want to but I will not allow it. You must appear to support me publicly since I control your education. Hopefully you will never have to publicly support her and where she was likely to previously punish you and try to make you crack through multiple detentions would be a perfect cover for tutoring. If the deception works then everyone will think you stayed strong and fought for what you believed in. You would get all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks. The risk is she and the minister oust me before Tom is outed and you have then to lie."

I nodded, that plan seemed better. I would get all the benefits but none of the drawbacks in theory.

"Is that everything Miss Potter?" Dumbledore asked when I said nothing. I took a moment to think about if there was anything else I wanted to ask.

"Have you managed to make any progress on the hunt for Tom's trinkets?" I asked wondering if he'd got the goblins to cooperate.

"I am unsure." Dumbledore admitted. "Currently they agree that such a thing should not exist and would willingly aid in its destruction were it to exist. However, they will not open the vault and destroy the object without proof of its existence. Short of removing Bellatrix LeStrange from Azkaban and giving her to the Goblins with a vial of veritaserum I am unsure how to prove what lies within."

"Have you thought of asking Harry what the other you did?" I didn't know if they'd spoken at all other than when they first met but I was sure Harry would be willing to talk. The Dumbledore from his world had been a friend not just a mentor.

"I have not. He gave the impression that he sees this as a task for us to accomplish. I wonder if we approached him about this if he would doubt our competence." Dumbledore replied.

I laughed, "Harry will always question everyone's competence, he knows he's talented and sometimes wonders why everyone else isn't."

"We are not judged by how we treat our equals but those we believe ourselves to be above." Dumbledore sighed.

"I'm pretty sure Harry doesn't really care how others judge him. He knows what he's done and how good he is, he'll likely ignore everyone he doesn't care about."

Dumbledore nodded, he seemed tired so I wished him goodnight and snuck back to my dorms. Thankfully its seemed nobody had noticed my little adventure and I was able to drift into a peaceful sleep.

Saturday morning I woke and after dealing with the horrifying realisation it was still the morning I rolled out of bed and made my way to the showers. It seemed my late night sneaking wasn't as clean as I'd thought judging by the annoyed looking Hermione sitting on my bed when I returned from my shower.

"Rose." She greeted. I tried to shoo her so I could get dressed. She stood and walked back to her bed allowing me to get dressed. "Where were you last night and over summer? Dumbledore said you were fine but he never told us where you were."

I quickly pulled on some of the clothes Fleur and I had picked out in a muggle shop and were much nicer than anything I used to wear. It raised Hermione's eyebrows but she was waiting for other answers before she asked about my clothes.

"I was talking to Dumbledore." I confessed.

"Really, he normally sends you a note? Why didn't you tell us?" She demanded. Her voice on the edge of shrill.

I sighed slightly as I slumped onto my bed, fighting the urge to slip under the still warm covers.

"I went to see him because I had some questions. I didn't get sent for."

"Why not tell us?" Hermione pushed.

"You and Ron seemed busy. It was more of a spur of the moment more than anything else." I answered. I looked to the ceiling but could feel her judging eyes on me. The disapproval was oozing from her.

"You still could have told us. Now where were you over summer?" Hermione retorted.

I knew I wouldn't be getting out of this so I'd have to phrase it carefully. The girl was a bloodhound with information. She was often oblivious with regards to human things like feeling if I gave her too many details she might learn stuff I'd rather not have her know.

"I had a flat for a while. You remember how Dumbledore wanted you all not to write to me? He wasn't happy at first but eventually he agreed I could do with some space to get myself back together."

Hermione looked deep in thought at that. "So the headmaster knew?"

"Why else would he tell you I was safe?" I asked back with a forced smile. I knew that if she thought it was Dumbledore's idea then it would be fine.

"So long as the Headmaster knew I guess it couldn't have been too bad. You do anything, interesting?" She asked. At first I wondered if she was asking so she could tell me about her own holidays like she had in previous years but she had been shut away in that miserable house of Sirius' so she might just want to live vicariously through me.

"I spent some time with Fleur Delacour and her boyfriend. She's a much nicer person than she seemed last year." I offered. I would likely be getting letters from Fleur and when one took a moment to consider Hermione's habit of snatching things combined with her complete lack of understanding with regards to boundaries or privacy meant she would learn about Fleur soon enough.

"Oh, what's her boyfriend like, Bill mentioned him once or twice." It seemed even Hermione Granger wasn't immune to gossip.

"Medium height, dark hair scruffy look most of the time but with a sense of class. He's smart, callous at times. I don't think you'd like him much, his attitude towards others tends to be much less tolerant and more cynical." I provided.

"Bill is handsome and sounds nicer, I wonder if she knew he was interested." Hermione mused to herself as much as anything.

"Bill is alright but Fleur seems happy which is what matters isn't it?" I responded as I got up. I'd had enough of lounging around and wanted to get a few things done. I wanted to speak to Umbridge tonight or tomorrow so I'd need to do a few things to shake off Hermione and Ron. Maybe I'd want to go to the library after dinner followed by some flying. Ron would hate the idea of going to the library before term officially started and Hermione would get hooked on something in there and would rather stay in the warm and read than fly or watch me fly. Before that I wanted some time to prepare, maybe practice some spells.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked as she got up too.

"We're ignoring Ron up here aren't we?" I offered.

"Uh," she sighed. "I've spent almost every hour with him over the summer. Ginny's alright but I never know how much she knows about some stuff so its always a bit awkward."

"Well I've barely seen him." It was true. He was still my friend, he might have been a bit of a prat last year and be an idiot at times but he's our idiot.

"Fine." Hermione relented as we descended the stairs to the common room. Ron was sat with Seamus talking about some league quidditch which I couldn't care less about. As I came over I saw Seamus sneer at me slightly, stand and leave. I was surprised for a moment before deciding he must be a fan of the Prophet. That or I'd done something to annoy him which I couldn't remember doing. Maybe Lavender or Parvati had said something to him.

"What's with Seamus?" I questioned as we sat.

"He's being an arse; his mum is a big Prophet reader and so he's not a big fan of yours at the moment. Ron replied as tactfully as ever.

I nodded in acceptance before asking about how the rest of his summer was after I left. As we settled back into our friendship I couldn't help but feel like an outsider looking in. I'd changed so much and had a whole new approach to things. I'd probably relapse at times but I couldn't help but think about how I was planning on ditching them after dinner.

The meal wasn't a feast but the volume seemed better. Whatever tensions built up over the summer seemed to slide away, or at least for now. The halls of Hogwarts were a safe haven and that feeling let people relax and talk as they settled back in. I spied Umbridge at the staff table meaning she wasn't visiting the ministry. From hours spent helping Lockhart answer his fan letters and learning the patronus with Remus I knew where the Defence teacher's office was. Now I had confirmation she was in the castle I could work on my plan.

Ron as I predicted was horrified with the idea of going to the library before term started. Hermione leapt at the chance and was commending me at my new attitude the whole trip. I slugged through a hour of hard magical theory having not thought up an specific thing I wanted to research. Next to me Hermione was lapping it up even though I suspected she didn't really understand it she would learn it so she could recite it if it was needed. I told her I my mind was feeling fuzzy and made a joke about only being an amateur bookworm next to her mastery. The compliment eased her worries when I claimed I wanted to fly. She was quite happy to keep reading and prove her mastery leaving me with a clean get away. Maybe I would even go flying after meeting Umbridge to tie off any loose ends. Its not like anyone is going to want a minute by minute summary of my evening.

I could feel the nerves building within me as I knocked on the door to Umbridge's office but I filtered them out. I needed to be object and think clearly for this. She was uglier up close than I'd realised but I filtered that out, I wasn't here to judge her but use her.

"Miss Potter?" She questioned. "This is a surprise." Her voice was sweet but nasty, like marzipan really. I looked around as if I was being sneaky before saying anything.

"Professor, I was hoping we could have a private word before term started." Her piggy little eyes lit up. I could see the gears turning in her head. She wasn't a cunning Slytherin merely someone who thought they were. I just had to set the board and she'd play my game.

"Very well, come in then." She replied after a moment's thought. Her office was as hideous as the woman who inhabited it. Pink everywhere, kittens too. How something normally so adorable could see so awful I wasn't sure but she'd managed it. Umbridge walked over to a side cabinet and started to make us some tea.

"Thank you." I replied. It was mostly sincere too.

"I assume that the Headmaster does not know you are here?" She enquired sweetly. I nodded, it seemed my not so subtle acting had paid off. "What do you have to discuss that you wouldn't want him to know about?" She asked putting a cup in front of me and heaping sugar into her own.

"Its about what he's saying. I've not said anything myself but he's said things for me." I offered.

"Oh, so the headmaster is lying on your behalf?" She asked. I felt dirty just interacting with her but I kept going.

"Not really on my behalf. Not at all if you look at the trouble he's got me into." I replied trying to act nervous and yet resentful.

"So, you aren't saying you-know-who is back after all?" She asked smugly as if she had put all the pieces together of some great puzzle.

"I have to if anyone asks." I explained. "He controls where I live and what I can learn. If he expels me I get my wand snapped."

"Cornelius will want to know this. Thank you for bringing it to my attention Miss Potter." Her grin was evil but it seemed to be going the way I wanted.

"Professor, if I may, could you pretend I haven't told you all this. If you're nice to me in class and stuff, then Dumbledore might get suspicious. I was hoping to join the Ministry in a few years and was hoping for some advice. Could you maybe pretend to give me detentions and help tutor me so I can help the Ministry better when I join?" I was sure I was laying it on too thick but she seemed to be lapping it up.

"Hmmm." She was clearly thinking hard as she sipped at her tea. "You don't want Dumbledore to know?" She checked. "Do you not think the Ministry could look after you?"

"I think they're great." I protested. "but you can't deny that at Hogwarts Dumbledore is king."

"For now," she spat. I was concerned with the venom in her voice. It did confirm that she and Fudge were looking to remove Dumbledore as he had suspected.

"Well I was thinking that maybe I could be an auror or hitwizard one day. You know, I'm the girl-who-lived people will expect me to keep them safe for the Ministry." I added.

"I see, with all the nasty were-wolves and half-breeds out there we could always use good people. I might be able to arrange a chat between you and some of our best." She offered smiling sweetly. I returned her smile and thanked her while wanting to curse her. I suspected Fleur fell under half-breeds and Remus was one of the nicest people I knew.

I didn't stay long after that, instead rushing to the dorms to grab my broomstick. I wanted to clear my head a bit and nothing did that better than flying. I'd got everything I'd wanted but having to agree with a woman like that left me feeling ill. Voldemort was insane, evil incarnate almost, a clear enemy but Umbridge. She seemed like the worst sort of person. A self-righteous bigot, someone with bad prejudices and in a position to act upon them. Dealing with people like her where the reason Harry had told me there was a difference between surviving and winning. In my mind until now I'd had a clear image of the Death Eaters as the bad guys and everyone else as the good guys, perhaps it was naïve but it kept things simple. The idea that every part of the Wizarding world would potentially need cleansing it was scary. If that many people were bigots, then maybe there was a point? No I couldn't accept that.

I spent about an hour in the air. Just leaving the ground and my worries behind. I needed it, I hadn't really accepted the enormity of the issues facing me. I didn't have to just stop Voldemort but I had to purge the society that allowed him to rise to such heights. Harry might have warned me and I might have heard him but I never listened. How was one person meant to change so much? Dumbledore hadn't and I wasn't even close to his level of influence.

Neither Hermione nor Ron said anything about my evening when I returned with my broom. Ron had mentioned something about trying out for the team but I don't play chaser and perhaps selfishly didn't want to help him practice so I was surprised he didn't comment. Instead they seemed to be talking about the Order. I rushed up to my dormitory to drop off my broom before I headed back downstairs to join them. It seemed in the last few weeks of the holiday the direction of the Order had changed and none of them where sure why. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were all trying to work it out. I suspected the change coincided with the revelations made by Harry. I mostly kept quiet not having the same level of knowledge as them and what I knew, I couldn't say.

Going to sleep that night was a tougher prospect than last night. In my head I was still struggling to deal with the idea that there were potentially hundreds of bigots in positions of power and it seemed that nobody was prepared to do something about it. I fell asleep to the thought that maybe it wasn't my job. If I dealt with Tom then I could throw my name behind someone who'd deal with it and I could live in peace.

Sunday, the last day before term began was a mad panic in Gryffindor as a few people scrambled to finish their summer assignments. Others had a lazy day pottering around the castle. I spent much of the day practicing a few of the spells I'd learnt with Fleur making sure I was ready to start dominating class even if I still struggled with the theory.

We got our timetables at breakfast on Monday. It could have been worse. It was OWL year after all, after NEWT year this was the hardest we would be worked. Luckily it was an easy start to the year. History of Magic and Divination in the same day, just in case you had a wild weekend and needed a nap. Unfortunately, it was accompanied by double Potions and double Defence. All in all the day was dull and likely awful, I'd have preferred to start with Charms or Transfiguration something I knew I would do well in and start the year strong.

History of Magic was as dry an as boring as normal. I used the opportunity to flick through the year's potions textbook. Snape seemed to pick from random which made preparation hard. Greengrass had told me that they had a syllabus posted in their common room. Maybe I'd have to get a copy of that. I also gave a quick flick through the book Fleur got me just in case.

The Dungeons were as gloomy as normal, Ron and Hermione were bickering about how little attention Ron had been paying in History of Magic which let me dawdle along behind. We weren't in danger of being late and I felt no need to get there early. Snape would never like me, I could accept that. OWLs and NEWTs were examined externally so I just had to keep my head down and try to learn whatever I could. The Slytherins were already lined up in the corridor outside the class when we arrived. I wished every year that we were paired with the Hufflepuffs or someone else not dedicated to ruining our work but no, for some reason the two most antagonistic houses were paired for one of the more volatile classes.

I saw Malfoy spot me and start to make his way over but possibly for the first time in my life I was pleased to see Snape. Normally he showed his greasy, hook nosed mug just after Malfoy set up Ron for an argument, just in time to catch Ron pull his wand. This morning however he merely gave us a scathing look and ordered us into the classroom.

The lesson started with a mildly insulting talk about the OWLs and Snape's low expectations of us before he set us making a Draught of Peace. It was a fiddly potion with little flexibility and a high level of precision needed on the measurements making me glad I had my new tools. So long as I followed the instructions carefully I should be fine. It was also one of the rare occasions we weren't partnered meaning I could work on my own. I set up on next to a wall as far away from the Slytherins as I could be. Ron and Hermione were in front of me with Neville filling out their row. Seamus and Dean were at the back with Lavender and Parvati next to me in the middle. They tended to chat and weren't known for their expertise in potions but they weren't as awful as Neville nor did they share Seamus' tendency to make things explode or catch fire. All in all, I could focus on my own work with little distraction and a low chance of sabotage.

I choose to prepare and measure my ingredients beforehand, nothing would spoil left out and while it would cut my time close it meant that the ingredients would be ready when I needed them which was the key in this potion according to the textbook. Snape looked at me disapprovingly but I had long since given up caring what he thought. Knowing that he was responsible for setting Voldemort on my parents and still having to endure his 'teaching' was hard. I only managed it by reasoning that my parents outright opposed Voldemort to begin with and would have always been targets even if not ones Tom felt needed a personal touch.

My potion wasn't perfect but Snape hadn't found a good reason to vanish it unlike Neville's sludge. While I never expected to be marked fairly I knew that this would exceed Snape's expectations. Then again, I didn't melt my cauldron so I certainly exceeded his expectations. It probably wasn't an O. I think I messed up a few changes of direction when I was stirring but otherwise it was fine, passable even, which meant it was better than anything I'd produced before at school.

The lesson ended with Snape merely glaring at me. For what had to be the first time ever I hadn't lost points in potions nor had Snape said anything too scathing. Either Dumbledore had spoken to him about his behaviour or I'd managed to do so well he couldn't complain. Perhaps Neville and Ron had simply messed up enough that he'd got tired moaning today. Others had tanked Snape's disapproval for me. I had been cleaning up my equipment during any simmering stages so I was able to rush out before Snape remembered how loudly I'd been breathing.

Divination, before this year I would have said I hated it but now it was merely an irritation. I strongly disliked it and after potions it was my least favourite subject but I don't think I hated it. Ron slid into his seat next to me looking slightly sheepish.

"Hey?" I greeted him confused.

"Hey." He responded. I could see him gathering the will to add more. "Hermione wants to know why you're avoiding us."

"I'm not." I protested only for Ron to interrupt anything I would have added.

"I never said you were, I'm telling you what Hermione wants. Even if you were you'd have a reason and eventually you'd tell us. After all we've been through I trust you." Ron spoke. I felt slightly guilty and I felt badly for wondering how much of what he was saying was guilt for how he acted last year when my name came out of the goblet.

"I guess I might be. It's not deliberate, just, you know after what happened I've wanted some time to think." I tried to explain. I didn't have time to say much more before the voice of our teacher called across the room as she began the lesson.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was something I was nervous about. I knew that I had spoken to Umbridge but I wasn't sure how I was meant to behave. I would try to keep my head down, maybe half-heartedly protesting when I was supposed to. If I got punished for it then I could always confound her or something if she had changed her mind about what we had agreed to. Heck if I was desperate I could stun her wait out the detention then obliviate her but I think that counted as excessive and I still hadn't practiced by memory charms so there was a real risk I could damage her.

The classroom was as horrific as her office. Pink everywhere, definitely more creepy and scary than the Dark Arts themselves. At least I could understand the appeal of them even if they horrified me, this much pink however, there was no justification. Even the Slytherins sharing the class with us looked traumatised. What followed was one of the worst lessons to have been given in my time at Hogwarts, a time that included Quirrell's stuttering, Lockhart's story time, Hagrid's successive lessons on Flobberworms and having my death predicted every divination lesson.

For this lesson, I'd brought my real textbook just in case. Having been instructed to merely read from it and make notes I began to regret not bringing my modified version. It seemed however, that the lesson couldn't progress in the manner of Binns' dull lessons where we just ignored the teacher and napped. Hermione had taken it upon herself to argue for our education. Why she was bothering I wasn't sure. After all the trouble the Ministry had gone through the words of a teenage muggleborn was not going to deter them. Umbridge had been treating them as children so far so it wasn't a surprise when she dismissed the class' protests. It was unpleasant news to hear that we would have no practical practice before the exams and I felt the eyes of the class on me at times clearly expecting me to speak out. I knew I should, even Umbridge might be expecting me to protest for appearances sake if nothing else but I just couldn't bring myself to care enough. It was clear what she was doing and there was no way we could change her mind. It was pointless. I couldn't help but feel this was a case of Gryffindor's fighting the good fight, standing up for what they believed in but what was right? To work around her and do what you needed to do or fight a fight that couldn't be won, for the sake of appearances? Surely protesting because you could was the easy option. Swallowing their pride would be the right thing to do. If ever you needed to see how much the Mind Arts and Harry's tuition had affected me it was this.

I left the lesson the moment we were dismissed. I knew Hermione and Ron would have wanted me to speak up. I was sure had I then they would have warned me about arguing with her despite them both doing it. It was a scenario I couldn't win but it wasn't something I really cared about. Dinner was quiet. Either side of me Ron and Hermione seemed to be exchanging glances that I was doing my best to ignore.

"Rose." Hermione started, having crumbled to the pressure of the silence.

"Yes Hermoine?" I replied, my tone was sweet. I knew it was bitchy but we could have had a normal chat about something unimportant but I knew this would be about my behaviour.

"You didn't say anything to Umbridge?"

"I did not." I confirmed trying to focus on my dinner in front of me.

"People will look to you to make a stand. If you're letting her say these things people are going to lose faith." Hermione explained as if I was an idiot.

"Hermione, what does arguing with her achieve?" I asked.

"But." She protested.

"Look if I argue then I get detention. If ignore her then I can study by myself in the time I would have been in detentions. If it bothers you so much if she implies I murdered Cedric again, I'll throw a hissy fit but I don't know what it's going to achieve."

"I know you hate it but people look to you. If you're not standing up for Dumbledore then people won't believe you." Hermione argued. "You-know-who is back and people aren't ready. You have to warn them." She whispered. I sighed and looked to Ron.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I don't know. We're not going to learn anything with Umbridge so she's basically helping You-know-who. That's not right but what can we do about it?" Ron replied shrugging. It was oddly mature for Ron in a typically simple, blunt package.

"We should do something. Maybe McGonagall or Dumbledore." Hermione started before she was interrupted by Ron.

"Look if they could do something they would have done it already." Ron argued.

"We have to do something then." Hermione protested. Normally when things went wrong we had to persuade her, so it was strange for the roles to be reversed. Was it bad I was finding this display mildly entertaining. Neville opposite us had been silent but I knew he was listening. Luckily nobody else was near us at the table giving us what passed as privacy in this school.

"What can we do. This isn't like normal, there isn't a day to save, no evil to be stopped. Its worse, its politics." Ron argued oddly insightful. I began to suspect I wasn't the only one who'd grown up a lot this summer.

"So we do nothing?" Hermione hissed.

"I don't know. I want to but I don't know what." Ron replied his temper flaring slightly. "Can we talk about something else."

"So, Neville how was your summer?" I asked the boy opposite in an attempt to move the conversation onto safer topics.

"It was good." Neville replied. "I got a new plant." His face lit up as he began to talk enthusiastically about his greenhouses at home. I could almost hear Ron roll his eyes at Neville's love of plants and Hermione mashed her food as she worked out her annoyance.

"My Gran believes you, I do to for what its worth." Neville offered. I smiled in return and felt a little guilty about not standing up to Umbridge if it meant letting Neville down. It was much easier to let down people when I didn't know them. When they were part of the background and I could pretend they weren't real. I knew even now there were whispers all around the hall about me and Dumbledore but I was ignoring them. They didn't matter to my survival.

"Let's get out of here." Ron offered. We stood leaving Neville to finish his meal while we headed up to the common room. I knew there was an argument brewing. It probably would have no winners but both Ron and Hermione would need to scream and make some noise to get their thoughts out there even if they agreed with each other there would be shouting I suspected.

"I can't believe Dumbledore is letting her teach here, in our OWL year too." Hermione screamed the moment we arrived in the common room. I held my tongue on how selfish it was that she seemed to only care about her OWLs, I'm sure NEWT students would have it even worse.

"Its not like we've ever had good or safe Defence teachers." I offered trying to calm her down.

"She's trying to get people to spy on us. Remember, she told us to come to her if anyone was saying You-know-who is back." Ron added.

"Of course, she's spying on us. That's why she's here." Hermione snapped back at him as if he was an idiot.

"Right, can we work on the Homework we got given." I asked. "We've got loads already."

"Yeah, lets get Snape's out of the way. That looked nasty." Ron suggested. Hermione, it didn't seem was listening as she'd left to shout at the twins who seemed to be trying to get first years to act as test subjects in whatever they were up to now. I smiled at the sight of Ron preparing to work while Hermione went off to do something else. Yet again small things this year were backwards.

Hermione continued to defy expectation and not do her homework instead she seemed content with knitting what she claimed were hats for house-elves. Without her input Ron was quickly becoming frustrated with the homework. I was able to use Fleur's ingredients book to provide a few more details about moonstones but I didn't put too much effort into it. It wasn't like Snape would grade it fairly. Hermione seemed to be done for the night and was hiding her hats under piles of rubbish leading to another argument between Ron and Hermione. It ended with Hermione headed up to the dorm and Ron removing all the rubbish from the hats.

"They should know what they're picking up." Ron explained. For all his occasional stupidity Ron did always have a sense of fair play and decency. "Right, I can't do this without Hermione, I'm off to bed. Night." Ron packed away Snape's homework and headed up the boy's staircase leaving me to finish it. I couldn't bring myself to do anymore so I too went to bed.

The next morning was grey and bleak however as Ron put it, with Charms and Transfiguration at least classes weren't going to be as dull as the sky. Hermione had a strong sense of smugness around her at breakfast. This wasn't overly unusual so I kept quiet. Ron didn't, it turned out all of Hermione's hats had gone missing which led to yet another spat between Ron and Hermione about whether elves wanted to be free. I kept very quiet and thought of Jeevesy and Hermione's potential reaction to him.

Charms began with a speech about the importance of OWLs before revising some of last years charms. The refresher was nice but I'd been able to do magic for a few weeks now so wasn't as out of practice as most people. The class flew by and Transfiguration began the same way many of our lessons had, with a talk about OWLs. Instead of a revision lesson we dived right into the new stuff with the vanishing charm. Sort of a reverse conjuration. It was one of the spells Harry and Fleur said was extremely useful in everyday life and Fleur had made sure I could perform it. I got 15 points from McGonagall for doing it on my first attempt. Hermione got 5 for getting it on her third attempt but the outline of the snail we were vanishing was still there for her. I was surprised to see she wasn't smiling at my points, instead she was glaring. We were the only two to be exempt from homework, in this case, practicing the spell.

At lunch Ron wanted to go to the library to finish Snape's homework and Hermione, either still annoyed at Ron for breakfast or at me for whatever it was I'd done this time, chose not to come. Still, Ron wanting to go the library and Hermione not, par for the course this year. I used the chance to browse the history section of the library, more specifically I tried to find a good book on the war I ended. I'd say it was my mother who did the hard work but the books said otherwise.

The rest of the week passed calmly enough, I kept thinking about visiting Umbridge to see if she wanted me to shout more, or Dumbledore to start his lessons but mostly I kept my head down and settled back into the rhythm of school life. My peace was interrupted rudely on Friday morning when I found myself waylaid by a familiar house elf.

"Master and Miss Fleur are most annoyed they are. Miss Rose hasn't been writing and its been a whole week." Jeevesy informed me as he passed me a letter. I had class so I stuffed the letter into my bag to read later and thanked the dutiful elf before rushing to class hoping that I wasn't now late to transfiguration. I arrived with a minute or two to spare and hurried into the room and set about vanishing a conjured bird having progressed to more complicated animals. I was competent at simple ones and at most inanimate things but I was struggling to get all of the bird in one go.

The rest of the day progressed similar to the rest of the week. Hermione was getting progressively more annoyed with me and Ron. I knew she was annoyed with Ron because of the house-elves but she was denying she was angry at me. The common room was far less homely than before, Ron. Hermione and I all silent and working hard to get as much of our work finished as we could so we could have the weekend free.

"There's an owl at the window." Someone announced. It wasn't unheard of to get owls to the common room but the vast majority of the post arrived at breakfast.

"Hermes?" Ron asked surprised as he made his way over to the window. I scribbled another few lines about the moons of Jupiter before looking up to see what the fuss was about.

"Ron?" Hermione checked seeing Ron's confused expression.

"It's a letter from Percy." Ron explained as he took the letter and began to read. "I don't believe it. He's such a git."

"Of course he is but what has he done this time?" Asked one of the twins walking over and plucking the letter from his younger brother. "He's such a git."

"I don't know if I should laugh or cry." The other twin announced having read over the other's shoulder.

"You do one, I'll do the other." Offered the one I think was Fred.

"Sounds like a plan." Replied the one I dubbed George.

"Can someone explain?" Hermione demanded impatiently. If it was a family thing then that might be considered rude but Hermione often considers herself above tact.

"Here." The letter was thrust towards us. Hermione snatched it away and began to devour its contents. After finishing it she passed it to me. I laughed at it.

It seemed I was a person to avoid. Ron getting the prefect badge apparently meant he was on the path of responsibility unlike Fred and George. It seemed Umbridge would be looking at my friends and it implied she would be getting new powers.

These powers were announced in the Prophet the next morning at breakfast. Umbridge had been named High inquisitor. A role that seemed to be to inspect the other teachers and to ensure they had minimum standard of teaching. I could work with that. I knew enough about the bad teachers that I could point her in the right direction and get myself further into her favour. I'd have to meet up with Dumbledore and chat to him about all this but then I could tell this to Umbridge and spin it as him putting pressure on me to speak out.

After breakfast Ron wanted to head out and fly. It seemed he wanted to get onto the team this year. Hermione had to catch up on the homework she had overlooked to knit leaving me to finally read the letter from Harry and Fleur.

 _Dear Rose,_

 _You haven't written to us. That's disappointing. Fleur especially was looking forwards to your letter. How can you hurt Fleur like that, she's so nice to you. Write soon or you won't enjoy Hogsmeade and don't think you can just hide in the castle_

 _Regards, HJP_

The missive was shorter than I had expected. I suspected that I'd get a longer one if I continued to not write, not that I was planning on not writing, in fact I really should do that now. I also needed to write to Sirius and remind him I was alive and well. The letter Hedwig carried off to Harry later that evening contained a summary of all the events of the year so far and some I expected to happen. I also added a separate note for Fleur containing the expected but not confirmed dates for Hogsmeade and a thank you for helping me prepare for the school year and how helpful it had proven.

After that I made my way to Dumbledore's office. The headmaster seemed happy to see me. As did Fawkes who flew over and perched on the back of the chair I was on with a happy trill.

"Good morning Miss Potter. What brings you up here today?" The aged professor asked as he steepled his fingers and gave me his full attention.

"Umbridge is the High Inquisitor. That and Percy Weasley sent a letter confirming that they're trying to remove you."

"Ah, that." Dumbledore accepted my reason for being here. "How have your lessons with our new High Inquisitor been?"

"Dull. She wants us doing a pure theoretical course." I answered suspecting he already knew the answer. "Do you know why she doesn't want us to do any practicals? Unlike some I haven't bothered to complain. If she came in with this plan us not liking it isn't going to matter. At first I wondered if she was just so incompetent that she couldn't demonstrate but that doesn't feel like a solid answer."

"The Minister seems to believe that I am preparing to seize power from him. To him it makes more sense than the truth which he will do anything to avoid. As I control Hogwarts he believes I am preparing a student army. A strange situation when they also decry the quality of the very subject that an army would focus on but alas Cornelius has seen little of sense in recent times." Dumbledore replied.

"I thought you turned down being Minister, several times?" I asked.

"Indeed, that is so but the memories of some are shorter than others. I'm sure your friend Harry would tell you that the truth is what you make it and Cornelius has most certainly constructed his own set of truths." Dumbledore explained with a gentle smile as if indulging a child.

"So he believes it and sends Umbridge to interfere and oust you?"

"Indeed, I am unaware how she is to divide her time between Cornelius' agenda and the role of High Inquisitor however."

I paused thinking fast wishing I had Harry here to advise me but I knew that I had always wanted to control my own destiny and that came with some responsibility that I had to accept. Dumbledore seemed happy to let me think as he unwrapped a boiled sweet of some kind. He offered me one but I declined.

"Professor, I was wondering, some of the teaching hasn't been too good recently and I was wondering if I could use that to get into Umbridge's good books." I suggested.

Dumbledore sighed deeply and pushed away from his desk to stand. As he walked to look out of the window Fawkes flew the short distance to land on Dumbledore's shoulder.

"I understand the temptation and I believe it would be relatively simple. I am not blind to the flaws of some of the staff we have employed over the years. Cuthbert for example was considered dull and pointless in my time and I'm sure you can describe that as a large amount of time. Severus isn't known for having the best manners but it is important to the war that he and Sybil remain at Hogwarts. So long as I remain in charge of the castle they can stay even if they are removed from teaching. I have a request, something in return for you making the lives of my teachers more difficult."

"What is it?" I asked, my mind racing with possibilities.

"I originally did little to oppose the Ministry interference. You see I had expected to be ousted by the Minister at some point. The freedom that would provide would have allowed me to search for clues regarding the objects Harry has already found. Now my plans are in flux but I think perhaps it is best for your education that I remain. My request, therefore, is that you hint that I have preparations to usurp the Minister outside of the castle. That I will only act once I am ousted so I can ride the wave of sympathy and support that brings."

"If she reports back then they'll stall until they can find out what your preparations are." I realised.

"Indeed, a good idea if I say so myself. Even better when one remembers that they will worry more when they find nothing. At this point their paranoia will tell them my plans are deep and strong rather than non-existent." Dumbledore confirmed turning back to me.

"Can I tell her you want me to spread the truth more actively?" I asked. "Hermione keeps telling me how people are losing faith in me for not fighting a fight I can't win."

"I believe the last time we spoke I recommended you did oppose her and blame it on me." Dumbledore remarked gently.

"I know but I don't see the point. It might be more true to say I don't want to see the point. I can believe that I have to stop Tom, he'll keep coming after me until one of us dies. What I struggle with is why so many people care if I argue with a teacher."

"The burden of leadership weighs heavily on you as much as on me this time. Whether or not you consider yourself a leader is irrelevant to the fact people do look to you for guidance and leadership. It is often said that those who do not seek power are the best to hold it and I hope that is true and that you are a better leader than I."

I sighed. It was true, I was figurehead, a national icon. I could ignore it all and do what I needed to do but there was always the aftermath. If I wanted a say in the future I would need support, which necessitated supporters which meant they had to believe in me and my cause.

"Why is our world so screwed up?" I asked, not really expecting an answer but using the chance to vent my frustrations.

"Ah, I have a theory on that." Dumbledore offered with a wry grin. "It is my belief that we allow ourselves to be governed by the ideas that govern magic. The rawest form of magic is to wish it to be and through our power make it so."

"Harry says that." I commented idly.

"It appears that I did indeed teach him something." Dumbledore replied. "Now our will allows us to do magnificent things but there are mistakes too. Tell me about some of your incidents of accidental magic." Instructed the Headmaster.

"I remember I was being chased by Dudley's gang and the next thing I know I'm on the roof of the school. Some form of appartion I guess. Another time I turned a teacher's wig blue." I confessed. There were some other incidents but they were the obvious ones other than the glass in the zoo. There might have been more times but I couldn't remember. I had been raised to not ask questions or believe in magic so its possible I did something then wrote it off as something else.

"I assume the intent for the first was to escape, the second, perhaps you felt humiliated by the teacher and wished revenge upon them." Dumbledore offered. "Do you believe a child should be punished for accidental magic?"

"No, it's accidental." I replied quickly. Dumbledore looked slightly disappointed in me and I realised I hadn't bothered to stop and think. I just replied automatically. I had been doing so well at not doing that.

"We call it accidental but very rarely is it so. We might not wish for the outcome in such specifics but we want something similar to happen. The only accidental part is engaging our connection to magic to give form and power to our wishes." Dumbledore explained.

"So we don't treat it like an accident?"

"We judge the indecent on the original intent. Intent is everything in our world. It is what we are all judged on and in my opinion one of the biggest failings we have. Consider the idea of a child wanting their toy, they employ accidental magic to summon it. In the process the toy trips a person and they are hurt and an expensive vase is broken. Do you punish the child?"

"I wouldn't. It didn't want those things to happen, they were accidents." I replied.

"You judge the act on its intent, not the result. If my old friend Gellert wished to improve things for muggles and means well are the unintended consequences to be brushed away. I have no doubt that the Dark Lord Grindelwald always had good, albeit misguided intent. The muggles have a phrase, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Dumbledore's tone was sad.

"I thought people fought against Grindelwald. If he was judged on his intent alone then surely everyone would have ignored him?" I questioned.

"Ah, but he wanted to help the muggles. He wished to rule them as he felt he knew best but at its core he wanted to help them. Some of the most valuable help we received in the fight against him was from the Blacks, the Malfoys and other families who do not want the muggles helped. Their reasons to fight are part of why I was reluctant to enter the fray for so long, I did not want to endorse them. Had I known then what I know now about what his forces were doing to their prisoners I would have intervened much earlier but alas I did not want to face my old friend for it would mean truly accepting what he had become. Had the incident with my sister not happened it is entirely possible I would have been alongside my friend not opposed to him."

The idea that Dumbledore was one argument away from becoming a dark lord was staggering. There would have been no stopping them. If Dumbledore was the only one capable of stopping Grindelwald then what could stop them if they worked together. It was humbling.

"I don't know what to say." I confessed still slightly stunned.

"You don't need to. Always remember that there are consequences to all actions. Gellert was willing to look past these, the ends justified the means and so on. Ignoring the history you know, what difference is there between Gellert's intent to help the muggles and someone like Arthur Weasley's, it might seem like a ridiculous comparison but on intent alone they are rather similar. It is only when we apply the arrogance of myself and Gellert in our youth, the idea that we always knew best that leads us down a darker path. The results were horrifying but to so many in our world his intent was pure. He only really earnt the title of Dark Lord when he defied the Blacks and the like. He had a fascination with power, dark magic is the quick and easy path to power and so he took it. Never forget that he was, like Tom once simply the most brilliant student of his time to come from his school. He was expelled for experimenting in dark magic but to him they were trying to hold him back. When we met, it was a meeting of equals. It is so rare to meet a mind that matches my own and in my youth I was far more arrogant than now. Together we dreamed of righting the wrongs of the world, of doing what others were afraid to do all in the name of the Greater Good. We were young, we were fools. Unfortunately, he never grew out of it. Perhaps I overlooked his lust for power but either way remember the story of a man who wanted the best for everyone and was willing to go to any lengths to achieve it. Although, I suspect if I went to speak to him now he might have grown out of it."

"He's alive?" I asked.

"Indeed, confined within the very prison he once created." Dumbledore admitted. "I have never visited him, too afraid to face him but I always feel I should." That was, interesting.

"So people don't oppose Tom because they feel he has good intent?" I asked trying to find the meaning in the Headmaster's story.

"Tom's intent simply is. Good or Evil while I wish were absolute are cruelly not. People either agree with his intent or not and I often suspect Tom has lost sight of his own intent. The horcrux creation involved carving apart his very soul, his own humanity." I felt a shiver of fear when the Headmaster said this but calmed myself at the knowledge that Harry had done the same and seemed fine, I guess really we hadn't carved our souls more, surgically removed a tumour. "Those that follow him subscribe to his mission to purge our world of those he deems unworthy. Often hoping for a fragment of his power or to use his power against their own enemies." Dumbledore continued.

"I think I understand. I just don't understand what this means." I confessed.

"What I am attempting to show is that intent allows us to justify appalling acts that, if judged on the act alone would be damming. You might have heard the idea that power corrupts, it is not untrue. Be careful Rose for you will be coming into a lot of power. See to it that you do not allow it to control you. With regards to Tom, it is more difficult. I have always believed that a child cannot be evil, that our choices define us and therefore we must be given the freedom to make our own choices lest we become someone else's puppet. I first met Tom when I delivered his Hogwarts letter. He was already a bully of sorts, abusing the power gifted to him by magic to get his own way. I have never understood Tom, his goals, his aims are beyond me. What intent he has seems mere whims. He has been utterly corrupted by his power and has no real direction other than to seek more power and lash out at those that deny it to him. I struggle to define what evil is, but Tom comes close simply because there seems so little reason behind his acts. He simply is and I struggle to relate or understand that in any way." Dumbledore explained.

I nodded not really understanding all that he was telling me. In years to become these nuggets of wisdom might be helpful but I couldn't afford not to focus on the short term right now. I had to survive before I could win.

"I should go." I suggested wanting time to process what was said before telling Umbridge an alternate version of events.

"We shall begin our lessons soon. It may provide proof to our High Inquisitor that I am trying to pressure you to speak out more." Dumbledore replied.

The common room was nearly empty when I returned. People either catching some time outside before the weather took a turn for the worse or were in the library finishing work they'd collected over the week. I was able to nab one of the comfier armchairs near the fire and curl up with a book for a few hours before anyone else returned.

I'd made it way through a couple of chapters of studies regarding the behaviour of transfigured animals before people started to trickle in hinting that dinner would be soon as they passed by to the staircases so they could deposit their bags. Ron came and sat with me while we gave Hermione some time to show before we left for the Great Hall. With dinner starting in five minutes we decided that she'd meet us there and made our way down. Ron chatted absently about quidditch and his desire to become the next Gryffindor Keeper. I nodded in all the right places. I hadn't given much thought to quidditch this year. Somehow the resurrection of a Dark Lord who really wants you dead tends to take over your life a bit.

Angelina was captain this year. She'd asked me to be at the try-outs for some reason. If she was as dedicated to her captaincy as Wood was then I doubted she'd take my new priorities well. In someways I wish Wood was still my captain, he'd deal with Voldemort in an instant for daring to interfere with his quidditch team. Dinner was superb as always. Hermione showed up halfway through looking flustered having lost track of time in the library. It seemed things might be going back to normal.

I went to Umbridge's office the next morning while most people were enjoying a relaxed Sunday morning. She welcomed me in and sat me on a settee so soft I felt I was slowly sinking into it while she made a batch of tea.

"So my dear, what brings you to my office today?" She asked in her sickeningly sweet tone.

"Firstly, congratulations on becoming the first ever Hogwarts High Inquisitor. It's about time the teachers were held to some kind of standards. Secondly I met with Dumbledore yesterday." I paused to sip my tea, using the time to judge her reaction. She visibly swelled with pride under the praise and her eyes lit up at when I mentioned meeting Dumbledore. "Is it true you're planning on removing Dumbledore?" I asked. She'd hinted at it before but I wanted confirmation.

"That is the end goal. The Minister feels Dumbledore has been overstepping his bounds for some time and this is the first move." Confirmed Umbridge.

"Dumbledore knows. I don't know how but he is preparing, while I was waiting outside his office I heard voices. I think it must have been a floo call because nobody else was there when I was allowed in but he said something about having the preparations ready for when he is removed. Something about riding a wave of support and sympathy." I offered hoping Dumbledore's plan would keep him in place.

"It is as Cornelius suspected." Umbridge whispered to herself. It was disturbing the almost reverent way she referred to the Minister. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Now was there anything else. I must send word to the Minister?"

"That was what I overheard. I just wanted you to know that he's heard how quiet I've been in your lessons while my friends argue with you. I told you about how until he's gone I have to listen to him so I was hoping you would understand if I complain a bit more." I explained doing my best to look pathetic and helpless.

"I understand. For your help I could look into finding an auror or hit-wizard to come in once or twice a week for you to converse." Umbridge offered.

"That would be fantastic, thank you. If you want me to write out anything about the professors we have or have had since I've been here just tell me. That or I can tell you in one of our 'detentions'." I suggested. It seemed everything was going to plan. I had to say this whole preparation malarkey had made this year so much easier than the previous years of just winging it.

"I think we'll save that for one of our chats. Now if you wouldn't mind running along I have to speak with the Minister." Umbridge's manner reeked of self-importance so I was pleased to leave.

"Thank you for your time and congratulations again on your new position." I said getting up and leaving the room as quickly as I could without seeming rude. That woman was awful and her taste in decorations might be worse than her views on half-breeds.

The first weekend of November marked the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. We'd been at school for a couple of months now and people wanted a break. Umbridge had been rampant and I had played a part in setting her on certain teachers. I now had tea with Umbridge most night which were officially called detention and honestly at times I longed to be scrubbing caldron bottoms or something, anything but spending more time with that awful woman but I had made my bed and I would sleep in it. Kingsley had volunteered to be my auror contact and was quietly tutoring me in practical Defence and general magical combat. It was tame, neither of us could afford to get injured but he had me doing series of exercises designed to improved my accuracy and the speed I cast. The interesting parts were when we played a strange form of magical duelling cross chess where we would cast a spell of some sort and then the other person had thirty seconds to counter it and hopefully find a way to return fire. It was emphasised that this was something to take with a grain of salt as it could encourage bad habits and I knew that Kingsley would soon be reducing the time window to get me working faster. It was all about creativity and taking advantage of the surroundings. Ron and Hermione had calmed down and were working together well once again. Ron had also found out that the reason Hermione had initially been annoyed at me was for beating her in classes. It was petty but we all have petty things that bother us. Thankfully she seemed to approve of how much more dedication I was putting into my studies but there was still a slight bitterness to it. I suspected she knew I had help over summer and felt it was cheating. I couldn't bring myself to care.

I was looking forwards to meeting Fleur, she had announced she would be visiting me but unfortunately Harry was busy. I felt slightly put out by that but he had reminded me I was welcome for Christmas and he would try to attend Hogsmeade if there was another one before the holidays. I was slightly disappointed that Hemione had organised some sort of gathering at the Hog's Head meaning that I wouldn't be able to spend the whole day with Fleur unless I took her to the meeting. I knew that a disappointed Fleur would be easier to deal with that an aggravated Hermione. I didn't share a room with her, or at least _I_ didn't, Harry was technically and alternate version of me so perhaps I was sharing with her. Thoughts like that were best ignored, they gave me headaches and images I couldn't purge from my mind. Wanting to spend as much time with Fleur as I could I was up early and on one of the first carriages while Hermione stayed behind to finish whatever preparations she had for this meeting.

"Potter?" I was greeted as I climbed into what I had thought was an empty carriage.

"Greengrass, how are you?" I asked seeing the blonde Slytherin.

"I'm as well as can be expected. This year is difficult, I already hate the OWLs and I believe I'm going to fail Defence this year along with the rest of the year." Greengrass remarked. "Funny how we only chat when travelling."

"Its not like we get to talk too much normally. I'd work with you in potions if you want but Snape hates me and I don't know how either of us would explain it." I replied.

"Don't worry about it. Think of our friendship as concentrated, compressed into small but strong measures."

"So if you don't mind me asking why are you out here so early?" I asked. Wondering if she too was wanting to see someone not in school.

"Avoiding people. Draco is even more obnoxious than normal this year. As his and unfortunately many in the house's view the return of the Dark Lord has upped his father's power and influence through which Draco gains the impression of more power. Its perceived rather than actual power but nobody really wants to explore the conversion rate. Pansy however finds all this fabulously attractive and spends hours describing Draco's magnificence and its as awful as you're probably imagining. I wish I knew how to perform the memory charm just to remove the conversations from my mind. I'm scarred Potter and I didn't even get a cool lightning bolt just endless descriptions of a scrawny ponce who looked better as a ferret than a human."

"Yuck." I commented

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Greengrass commented.

"I know the theory behind the memory charm but was told I should get some practice if you're feeling brave." I offered.

"I hate the memories but I have no doubt even if you removed them Pansy would give me new ones. By the end of the year you'd have turned me into a vegetable for my own good." Greengrass stated sadly. "What about you, you Gryffindors rarely emerge from your tower before midday on a weekend?"

I considered making something up but there was no drawback to telling the truth short of Umbridge taking offence to me meeting Fleur.

"I'm meeting Fleur Delacour." I confessed.

"The French champion from last year?" Greengrass asked surprised. I nodded in confirmation. "I didn't know she was in the country. Is Krum here too, a sort of post-tournament get to get together?"

"No, Fleur is dating the person I stayed with over summer so we spent a lot of time together." I explained. "Fleur was basically living with us by the end of summer."

"What's she like?" Greengrass asked. "I only saw her from a distance and she seemed not to really have any friends."

"Fleur is one of the nicest people I know. She helped me so much getting ready for school this year its crazy. She hated Hogwarts, she hates the attention she gets so tries to ignore it. Other people tend to envy her looks so it's hard to make friends." I explained. Greengrass seemed content with that and was looking out of the window.

We passed a few minutes in silence just watching the world roll by. It was so strangely peaceful. I couldn't help but feel wrong in these little moments, we knew war was coming and here we were playing nice. I filtered out the thoughts quickly lest I start to feel to guilty and get a horrible bout of angst.

"I got a copy of the book you showed me on the train." Greengrass announced breaking the silence. I shifted to face her slightly and smiled.

"Its good but it doesn't help too much without actually being able to practice some of the spells." I stated.

"I know. I can't help but wonder how the ministry will react to an entire year failing the course. Their flagship scheme in ruins as its own incompetence is revealed. I don't know what they're playing at but its on a clock. Either they're fools who don't realise how awful Umbridge is at teaching or they're deliberately sabotaging our year's grades."

I nodded in agreement.

"Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity." I stated. "Of it you prefer, cock-up before conspiracy. Its likely Umbridge and the Minister actually think this approach will be fine. Malfoy is too close to Fudge for Fudge to risk harming his son's education."

"Susan Bones' aunt wouldn't take it well. We have several people in our year with powerful families, its not like other years aren't suffering either." Greengrass added.

"The test will be if people like Malfoy are offered additional tutoring. If they get permission to practice when others aren't then we can call it deliberate." I suggested, I hesitated for a moment before reaching a decision I knew could come back to bite me but might be worth the risk. "Hermione is organising a meeting of some sort concerning Defence in the Hog's Head just after noon. That girl will not let people fail her if she can do something about it. I know word has spread but I doubt anyone told the Slytherins. Remember this is being organised by Gryffindors so it will try to be subtle and stand out like a sore thumb and some will resent your presence even if I personally invited you. I don't know what Hermione's plan is but she'll have a plan of some sort."

Greengrass nodded in acceptance and went quiet, clearly thinking hard. I left her to think knowing how irritating it can be to be pestered. Being a Slytherin, a cunning and ambitious one she would understand that discretion was implied and I wouldn't need to tell her to not tell anyone. She would likely weigh out the value of telling against the possible benefits and I just had to wait. It was likely her presence or lack of would be her answer. As she had told me on the train, sometimes it pays to be pragmatic and pick the winning side. She had to see if she could predict a winner.

We said our goodbyes as we left the carriage. Greengrass was headed off to buy some small presents for some upcoming birthdays while I headed to the Three Broomsticks where I was due to meet Fleur. Her beautiful face lit up when she saw me and she made her way over. I was soon wrapped up in a hug, it was so different to Hermione hugs or Mrs Weasley hugs, it didn't leave me feeling bruised and struggling to breathe.

"How are you?" She asked. I noticed immediately that she was using Harry's perception spell and likely had her revulsion enchantment on so she could go out in public without drawing too much attention.

"I'm good, how are you, how's Harry?" I asked. I knew that they were fine, or at least they were in their last letter but it was still polite to ask.

"I am well and Harry is fine. I wonder at times if he is bored but he always seems to have a new book or a caldron bubbling away. He keeps himself busy and he likes that. He has made a few more business moves but nothing too big." Fleur replied as we walked around the village.

"Is there anything you want to do today?" I asked. "My friend Hermione has asked me to come to a meeting after lunch in a pub in the village. I don't know what its about but you're welcome to come to that."

"Its fine. I hope that you will spend Christmas with us to make up for that." Fleur said, her smile was genuine though and I knew that she wasn't offended.

"Of course I will." I replied, I had always planned on spending Christmas with them.

"Good, I haven't done it yet but I plan on inviting Harry and you to spend a few days with my family in France. We can spend much of the holidays in England but a few days with my own family." Fleur added.

"I'd love that and I'm sure Harry would too if your family wouldn't mind." I replied. I was amazed. The Weasley's had always treated me like family but I'd met Mrs Wealsey so long ago and I was friends with many of her children. This felt different. I wondered slightly how much of it was she wanted Harry to come and I was merely part of the package. I bit down on that. Fleur was my friend in her own right and I hoped that even if she and Harry split I would remain her friend.

"My family will want to meet the man I spend my time with. I have no doubt they will hog him for the whole time. I therefore need you as a friend to keep me sane. I have grown used to the freedom of living away from my parents and I might chafe under them no matter how much I love them." Fleur explained casually as we reached the end of the village having simply been walking in a direction with no direction in mind.

"Where to now?" I asked.

"I do not know this place. You will have to show me all there is to see." Fleur instructed. I smiled and led her in the direction of the Shrieking Shack, one of Hogsmeade's most famous buildings and I knew more of its secrets than almost anyone else.

The rest of the morning was hugely enjoyable. It was a break from Umbridge and the constant power struggle between Dumbledore and the Ministry all while Tom lurked in the shadows. Fleur chatted about work, some of the interesting things she'd had to access for the Goblins and a few stories of people trying to ask her out including one where she was arm in arm with Harry. In return I relayed stories about Umbridge and her inspections. I'd told her about the lack of practical material from the course in my letters but everyone loves a little rant to get it off your chest and Fleur made a good audience.

We grabbed an early lunch in a quiet café mainly used by locals. Far less busy than the Three Broomsticks and far less awful than Madam Pudifoots. I was surprised to see Greengrass come in just after we'd received our drinks.

"Who is that?" Fleur asked after she saw Greengrass and me exchange small nodded of recognition.

"Daphne Greengrass, she's a friend but in another house so we don't get to talk very often." It was a bit of an understatement when outside of the occasional times when we ran into each other in the library or in potions' ingredients cupboard our friendship consisted of two conversations. Barely a friendship at all.

"Does she want to sit with us, she looks like she's alone?" Fleur asked. I had a slight chill go through me as I considered the meeting of Harry's past and future but shrugged and went to invite Greengrass to sit with us. I couldn't think up a good enough reason to deny her and I didn't want to answer if she asked why. I may be a better liar than I was this time last year but I didn't want to lie to Fleur, she was my friend. In the end if Harry told her where he really came from that was up to him.

"Fleur Delacour meet Daphne Greengrass, Daphne you remember Fleur from last year?" I introduced them and sat as Daphne joined us.

"What are you doing now you've finished school?" Daphne asked Fleur.

"I work at Gringotts." Fleur answered. "I do assessments and handle transactions for important clients."

"What's it like working for the Goblins?"

"They are okay, it was worse when I drew more attention, people found me distracting but now they are demanding but fair." Fleur replied. "They were also happy when I improved my English."

"I can tell, I only heard you speak a few times last year but your accent seems to have completely gone." Remarked Greengrass.

"Ah, I cheated." Confessed Fleur with a smile. I smiled to as I knew we were about to move onto one of Fleur's favourite topics. One which sometimes made me feel a touch uncomfortable but it made her happy.

"Oh, do tell." Greengrass encouraged.

"Well I haven't improved at all. My boyfriend, Rose's cousin, he knows many obscure spells. He found a spell that affects other people's perceptions. I think it was originally used to make better first impressions but I use it to change how people hear me." Fleur supplied happily.

"You have a magical cousin?" Greengrass asked me. "I was told all your remaining family was muggle."

"I only met Harry this summer, he'd been elsewhere before." I explained hoping that she wouldn't push further. "Did you speak to Krum at all last year, he sat at your table for meals but did he actually speak at all?" I asked before she could ask for more about Harry, Fleur could answer a few questions but where he had been before he met me is something I don't remember if we ever worked out a cover story for.

"No, he always kept to himself. I wasn't sure how much English he actually spoke. You probably spoke to him far more than any Slytherin did. Well, Malfoy spoke at him rather than to him but I don't think Krum ever said more than a few words back." Greengrass answered.

"Viktor didn't say much at all." Fleur added.

"Did you lot ever have little champion get togethers?" Greengrass asked amused.

"No, until after the second task we were still competitors in every way. After the first we realised how dangerous this really was but after Rose helped everyone in the lake we all reached an understanding of sorts." Fleur answered for me. I wasn't sure if the other three, being so much older had gone drinking or anything without me.

"I don't think anyone really said anything before the events either. From what I remember in the tent before the first task we were all just sat there terrified and doing our best to pretend we weren't." I added.

"I remember when Madam Maxine told me about the dragons, I was so scared." Fleur said as the food arrived.

We chatted about charms as we ate. Fleur as usual was a fountain of knowledge and useful tips. Daphne had been struggling slightly with the unbreakable charm and Fleur was more than willing to talk about the intricacies of the charm throughout the meal. Fleur stuck to her decision not to come to Hermione's meeting but Greengrass, no Daphne, would come provided I stuck with her to prove she wasn't a spy or whatever else Ron would accuse her of. Fleur said goodbye to us outside the Three Broomsticks where she would use the public floo to leave which she preferred to apparition which always carried the minor risk of splinching.

The Hog's Head was as dingy and grimy as it was over the summer. The dirt itself seemed to have become part of the walls in places and Daphne's disgust was clear.

"Hi Aberforth." I greeted the owner and less famous Dumbledore brother. He grunted in reply but didn't bother to say anything.

"You know him?" Daphne asked shocked.

"He's the headmaster's brother." I said quietly.

"Really, I'd never have guessed." Daphne replied equally quietly as we made our way to a booth near the back before one of us would leave to grab drinks.

"They don't get on very well. Dumbledore's history isn't as clean as everyone thinks." I stated before dropping my cloak and turning for the bar. "Butterbeer okay with you?" I called back.

"Yes but you are explaining that later." Daphne replied.

As I walked to the bar I looked around the place but it seemed we were the first students here. A wise choice really as this place couldn't be good for your health. Abe looked at me for a long time before reaching for some butterbeers which he passed over with a scowl. I took a moment to blow the dust off the bottle to check it was the right stuff. I wasn't sure when or where he got it but it had butterbeer written on it. I made my way back to the table thinking about how not subtle at all Hermione's meeting was going to be. A normally empty bar suddenly full of students. If Umbridge didn't hear about it I'd be amazed. Maybe I'd have to sell them out. They'd hate me if they learnt it was me but someone would and I'd be the one to benefit. We'd have to wait and see what Hermione would say but I doubted Umbridge would like it. Maybe I could manage the fall out but short of her only telling a few people this was going to get a lot of attention. One person who was on the ministry side at the meeting and this ends badly. Hermione wouldn't tell only a few, if she thought this was a good idea she'd tell everyone she thought she could trust and if it was going to help their defence grades then they would tell their friends. This secret meeting would be not so secret after all.

"So Dumbledore's dark and mysterious past?" Daphne asked the moment I sat down.

"I don't know everything." I admitted. "Over the summer I said I met Dumbledore, well Harry, Fleur's boyfriend was with me."

"Your cousin?" Daphne checked.

"Right." It wasn't strictly true but it would do. "Anyway, Dumbledore was the one who put me with my muggle family. The person I was meant to go to was Sirius Black and well you can imagine what people thought about that at the time. Well since I was going to be staying with a relative that Dumbledore didn't know about Harry headed off any potential arguments by going straight to Dumbledore. Now I don't know exactly where he learnt it all but Dumbledore didn't deny what Harry said."

"What did he say?" Daphne asked in an excited whisper.

"Dumbledore has admitted some of it to me in our Dumbledore the greatest wizard alive, girl-who-lived special meetings but the main point is Grindelwald was Dumbledore's best friend when they were younger."

"The Dark Lord?" Daphne checked, "No way."

"Yeah well, he and Dumbledore had this idea that magicals were better than muggles and it would be good and kind to lead them. To look after them as was our duty as the superior species. Then Abe over there, Dumbledore and Grindelwald got into a three-way argument that escalated into a duel and into the middle of it wades Dumbledore's little sister who gets hit by a stray curse and is killed. None of them knew who did it but Aberforth blames Albus. Even if it wasn't his curse then it was his friend starting the fight." I explained.

"Wow." Daphne replied.

"Yeah, that was my reaction when I found out."

"I'd never have guessed." Daphne repeated slightly stunned. I gave her a moment to reassess her views on the Headmaster while I glanced around to see if anyone else had arrived. I think I could see a few Hufflepuffs from our year now lingering over by the bar. It was Hermione's meeting and I was chatting with Greengrass so I didn't feel the need to go fetch them. Instead I looked back to Daphne.

"I don't think Dumbledore has ever tried to hide this but as far as I know I'm the only student who he knows is aware of this, so please don't spread it." I asked. I trusted Daphne for the most part but it was just to be sure, but Harry had explained to me that in Slytherins secrets were both weapons and currency.

"Don't worry, its not like most people would believe it anyway. Not to mention, you'd know exactly who said anything and then I'd have the all-powerful Girl-who-lived and her fans after me, it's too much effort for so little gain. It's a nice story, but what effect does it have, I gain nothing by telling people." Daphne replied. I still found it disturbing how everything in that house had value and a cost but I guess if it worked for them then it was fine and if it was how the house worked you'd learn quickly. Adapt or be pushed around and taken advantage of. It seemed like more effort than it was worth but maybe there was a reason that Slytherins tended to rise to the top outside Hogwarts.

"Two butterbeers please." I heard a familiar voice ask. Hermione had arrived, I could probably assume with Ron.

"What time did you tell people to be here for?" came Ron's voice.

"About now." Hermione replied. "Ah here they come."

From our booth we could see a steady stream of people come in. Definitely not subtle.

"Well whatever this is I doubt it's a secret anymore." I whispered to Daphne whose lips curled at the edge into a small smile.

"No, if anyone outside looked they'd have seen most of the fifth year, and a bunch more students march, on mass, into a pub everyone avoids. I wouldn't be surprised if a few people just followed to find out where everyone else was going." She whispered back.

Hermione rounded the divide and spotted me. She grimaced slightly when she saw Daphne but marched over anyway.

"There you are Rose, I've been looking for you everywhere." Hermione declared. "I didn't know you knew Greengrass?" She added on the end in a suspicious tone.

"Of course you didn't know, it's the real world, not in a book Granger, something you have to experience, you can't just read about it." Daphne replied scathingly. I couldn't help but be irritated by their bickering and decided to end it if I could.

"Right, anyway Hermione, I think all these people are here to listen to you." I interjected before Hermione could reply. No doubt she'd have been fine to argue but that wasn't why she was here.

"Yes, yes they are." Hermione commented before turning around and looking to the group. It seemed Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to sort everyone out with a drink. This had given everyone time to gather round the booth. I could see people looking at me and Daphne and hoped Hermione would give them something else to talk about.

"Well, go on Granger, they're here for you. Don't disappoint them." Daphne added. It could be taken as encouragement but the tone was mocking.

"Right, well hello everyone." Hermione's voice higher than normal from nerves. "You know why we're here. Well, I had an idea, we thought that if Umbridge isn't going to teach us defence we should study by ourselves. We should learn to cast the spells for real, not that rubbish Umbridge is teaching."

"Will this help us pass our OWLs?" One of the Ravenclaws called out.

"Of course it will, but more than that we need to learn how to defend ourselves because," she paused and took a moment to gather herself before continuing. "Voldemort is back."

As could be expected there was a mixture of reactions. A shriek was heard somewhere whereas others seemed to steel themselves.

"Where's the proof?" Called one of the Hufflepuffs.

"Who are you?" Ron asked rudely.

"Zacharias Smith," said the boy "and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes her say You-Know-Who is back." Gesturing towards me making sure everyone knew who he meant by 'her'.

"Look. That's not what this meeting is really about." Hermione tried but I felt the need to interrupt.

"Hermione, let me." I looked at Smith for a moment, using my occlumency to ignore everything else while I stared at him till he began to feel uncomfortable and twitch slightly. Internally I grinned at that but outwardly I turned to face the assembled crowd. "Look, I can say he's back or I could not. You can believe me or you could not. At the end of the day what difference does it make, we live in a dangerous world. There is a reason we are taught Defence as a core subject. Each one of us carries a stick and knows some words that can kill each other, there are creatures out there that would happily tear us limb from limb or devour our soul. Regardless of who provides the threat or where it comes from you should know how to defend yourself. I sincerely hope we never have to use what we learn but its wishful thinking to believe that it will never be needed."

"Is it true you can cast a patronus?" Susan Bones asked. The one with the important aunt going by what Daphne had said in the carriage on the way. "I heard you used it to fight off a hundred dementors in your third year." Whispers went round the room.

"If I cast it will that make you all happy?" I asked

"Is it true you killed a basilisk with a sword?" Terry Boot from Ravenclaw asked. "The one in the Headmaster's office."

I didn't have time to answer before Daphne spoke up behind me.

"If you're all going to ask about her feats just think back to last year. We all saw her take on the Dragon, merpeople, acromantulas and more. Rose has done it all but let's be honest with each other, we all know she has talent and power so story time later and Defence talk now."

"Who invited you, you filthy snake?" called someone. I really hoped it wasn't Ron. I looked up and saw a Gryffindor in the year above me.

"Who are you?" Daphne asked, contempt clear in her tone.

"Cormac McLaggen." Came the slightly pompous reply.

"Right," Daphne commented in a dismissive tone. "Now, take a moment to observe who I was sitting with before you all arrived and I think you'd have a simple answer. Perhaps from now on you might take a moment to think before you speak. Better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and prove it."

I could see why Harry had loved this girl. If I swung that way I would. I could still here mutterings here and there, some likely wondering what I was doing with a Slytherin. This could get rough for her for now since there was no way for her to hide her presence and the other Slytherins might hear. She either had a plan or was stuck with me for a while.

"Why don't you tell us if he's back, your parent's were probably kissing his feet last time, are they doing it again?" McLaggen pushed.

"Enough!" I shouted. "Stop being an arse. If you dislike her then maybe if you both do some practical defence, then you might get to practice against each other and settle some of it that way. Now shut up and listen to Hermione."

"Right, well thank you for that Rose." Hermione said trying to get back on point. "Now we should get together and learn."

"Wait, it can't clash with our Quidditch practice." Angelina Johnson interjected.

"Nor ours." Cho added.

"Yes well, I'm sure we can work it out." Hermione stated before everyone else could call out their various hobbies. "Now I think that's enough for now. If everyone will sign this then I can get in contact with everyone when we arrange everything. Now I think its best if nobody says anything about this since I don't think Umbridge would like this." Hermione produced a scroll from her bag and a quill and handed it to Fred and George who immediately signed it. There were a few protests to signing it but they gave into peer pressure and crumbled.

Rose noticed that Daphne had stuck by her side and Hermione hadn't demanded that I sign it so Daphne hadn't. Now everyone had left leaving the four of us. Ron was not looking happy at Daphne's presence.

"Why is she here?" He asked. He'd done well to hold it in during the meeting but Ron despised Slytherins.

"Because she's my friend." I replied.

"She didn't sign the list." Observed Hermione.

"Of course not, I don't sign anything until I know exactly what it is. That could easily be a magical contract you've just tricked them all into. You could have all kinds of penalty clauses in that and I wouldn't know what triggered them." Daphne spat. Hermione paled.

"Hermione?" I questioned at this reaction.

"It was a contract. I knew it." Daphne hissed. "They all signed it and none of them know it. That's low even for a Slytherin."

"Oy." Ron interjected. I'm sure in his mind that insult was likely one of the more insulting things he'd ever heard.

"No, Hermione, after how much I complained about the Goblet of Fire doing that to me how could you?" I asked. She looked guiltily around. Before slumping slightly.

"Its where I got the idea from." She confessed. "It means we'll know exactly who did it if someone tells on us."

"Tricking someone into signing a magical contract is illegal. Highly illegal, they could have signed away their magic and wouldn't know what triggers the penalty." Daphne insisted coolly and I knew why.

"Its just a minor curse." Protested Hermione.

"You still tricked them into a magical contract and this meeting was not subtle at all. Anyone could talk about how many people were meeting in the Hog's Head and how strange it was. Once Umbridge hears this how long until she tries to find out more. They'll keep quiet because they have to but if she finds leverage then this whole group is doomed." Daphne said reproachfully and I couldn't disagree with that assessment.

"Well..." Hermione trying to argue but was interrupted by Ron.

"Leave it, what's done is done. Now you said you wanted some new quills. Let's leave Rose here with her new _friend_ and we'll catch up later." The amount of distant he put into the word friend was rather impressive.

They stormed out of the pub leaving me alone with Daphne.

"She's an idiot. What defines a betrayal? If someone accidentally overhears people talking about this group then does that trigger the contract? I bet she just thought it was a great idea and never stopped to think." Daphne spat. "Errrr stupid Gryffindors."

"Well, as Ron said what's done is done. Now how likely is it that people will hear about you being here? Is that going to cause you problems?" I asked, concerned.

"Oh people will likely hear but I can get around them. I can tell them I saw the group and followed to find out what you lot were up to and my name isn't on that list so if they do get caught with it then I can get out of it. I am a Greengrass, my family is old and powerful, most people wouldn't dare question me. Only someone like Draco could. Now Rose, be honest with me, you don't seem as much of an idiot as that lot, what angle do you have?" I hesitated, before remembering that she knew Hermione had done something highly illegal.

"If I tell you then you tell nobody what it is and you tell nobody what Hermione has done." I demanded.

"I swear it as a Greengrass." She replied after taking a second to think it through.

"We both know He is back. I'm working with Dumbledore a bit but he's letting me sell him out in small bits to Umbridge. She thinks I'm her spy because Dumbledore can expel me, snap my wand and send me back to the muggles. I don't have real detentions with her because she thinks Dumbledore is making me tell people You-know-who is back. She thinks I want to join the Ministry as an auror after school so to make me love the ministry and as a motivator to keep me on her side I get tutored by an auror every now and again." I revealed.

"Well at least you can teach us something if Granger can't." Daphne sighed. "How is Umbridge going to take news of this meeting."

"Poorly." I replied instantly. "I have to tell her about it or else she'll suspect me and it compromises the other stuff. I just have to spin it somehow."

"Alright, I want in. If you have her protection then I want in, she wouldn't dare touch me but she might protect those who could." Daphne added.

"Let's go back to the castle and see if we can't work something out on the way. We want to be the ones to tell Umbridge about the meeting. Could we tell her that we were tricked into the contract and can't give her details until we learn more about the contract?"

"She'd think we were idiots to sign it." Daphne objected.

"Listen to the way she talks to us in class, she already thinks we're idiots. This just plays to our advantage." I commented.

"True. Who has the contract, if we tell her then she'll just go after them won't she?" Daphne pointed out.

"Damn. If we couldn't say who was at the meeting though we couldn't tell her?" I suggested

"If she hears its Granger she could still go after her. Depends on rumours not spreading at this is Hogwarts."

We swapped ideas on the ride back up to the castle before reaching a plan of sorts. We would have to be as vague as possible and tell her we couldn't confirm or deny anything until we knew the details of the contract. I knocked on Umbridge's door and together we were let in to the horrid office.

"Yes?" Umbridge simpered.

"Hypothetically," I started. "If you hear about a meeting this weekend in Hogsmeade then it would perhaps be hard to get details about it." I started.

"Oh?" Umbridge asked and I knew we had her interest.

"Hypothetically, they might have demanded everyone sign something that might have been revealed to be a magical contract of sorts meaning we couldn't say what the meeting was or who was there, really anything about it." Daphne added.

"Thank you, Miss Greengrass for bringing this to my attention." Said Umbridge sweetly.

"We can't say much until we find out exactly what we signed but rumour beforehand said it was about a Defence study group." I told her.

"I sense Dumbledore's hand in this." She hissed. "If you can, learn more. When the group is exposed I will remember your loyalty to the Ministry." We nodded and left her.

"That office is worse than her class room." Observed Daphne.

"I know." I groaned. "Good luck with the other Slytherins." I offered as we stood at the staircase I wanted to go up to the Gryffindor tower and she would descend towards the dungeons.

On Monday morning a new message went up on all of the common rooms. Umbridge, in her role as High Inquisitor had disbanded all clubs, societies and teams and they needed her permission to reform. I groaned and called Hermione over when I saw it.

"How did she know, this can't be a coincidence?" Hermione whispered.

"I don't know." I lied easily. "won't your contract tell us?"

"I don't think she has the names or else she'd have just come after us." Hermione deduced. "Ron, come look at this."

Ron walked over from where he had been talking with Seamus and Dean. Upon inspecting the notice he looked angry. He turned straight to me and stuck out an accusing finger.

"This is your Slytherin. It has to be. No Gryffindor would sell us out and Hufflepuffs are meant to be loyal. There was only one bloody snake there and she refused to sign the contract." Ron spat doing his best to keep his volume under control.

"I was with Daphne till she went to Dungeons. It can't have been her." I supplied.

"Well what about yesterday?" Ron urged.

"No, Ron." Hermione interjected. "If it was Greengrass she could have given names. We'd have already been expelled. I think someone told their friends where they were going and they told Umbridge. If anything, Greengrass has the most to lose. Imagine if Malfoy found out she was friends with Rose."

"Fine." Ron conceded. "But I still don't trust her." He ground out. I could accept that. I didn't trust her completely. She had already told me she wasn't taking sides where ever she could. If it benefited her then she could turn on us.

The rest week was fine. Ron was getting annoyed with Umbridge's inspections which always seemed to be in our classes and his mood was only getting worse as he was letting it affect him and he was performing poorly in class and getting extra homework that Hermione and I were avoiding. The quidditch team had been allowed to reform when Angelina went with McGonagall and it seemed Umbridge would not stand against the severe Scottish witch.

Jeevesy delivered a few more letters for me. Some had small tidbits of information in. Rumours of disappearances and the like but most were just general letters about life in the school combined with advice for the work. The most pressing issue we had was finding a place for our Defence group.

I had a meeting with Dumbledore on Thursday night, luckily, I had no quidditch and I had told Umbridge I was due to meet Dumbledore and she had released me from detention straight away. He greeted me in front of the gargoyle as we made our way up into his office. We continued our work on the influence of emotions on spells. The cause of intent as he described it. All intent had a root, a reason why it was our intent. Does casting a simple disarming charm when angry differ from when one is trying to bring peace? It was interesting for sure but it wasn't quite what I had been expecting from the greatest wizard alive.

"Sir," I asked at the end of our session. "I don't know how much you speak to your brother or if you have another source but I'm sure you've heard about Hermione's little club?"

"Something similar may have been mentioned to me. I think teaching is a noble pursuit and if the teacher is often the one who learns the most." Dumbledore commented.

"I don't suppose you could recommend a place for us to meet. Somewhere Umbridge couldn't find us?"

"Hogwarts has many mysteries. I have lived in this castle for many years and still she keeps many secrets from me. I can only think of a few people who know her better than your father and his friends." Dumbledore replied as he stroked his long beard absently.

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"Some people may not consider them people at all but they clean every nook, every space of this castle and have before I arrived and they will after I depart. If anyone knows of the perfect room they might."

"House-elves!" I realised.

"Indeed, beneath the notice of many they have generations of knowledge of the castle built up one simply has to ask. Myself, I do not simply because often I prefer the journey to the destination. At my age one takes joy in the small things and what can be gained if the answer is simply given to you? In this situation however, your journey is the group, this is merely preparation. I'm sure there are some in the kitchens who would be very happy to offer their assistance."

"Thank you." I said as I got up to leave. I would swing by the kitchens before I returned to the common room and hopefully Dobby could help me. The little house-elf bounced up and down with joy when I asked for his help. He told me of a secret room on the seventh floor that would become whatever I wished. That sounded like a room with potential. I also learnt that Dobby was now alone in cleaning Gryffindor tower as all the other elves were offended by Hermione's hats. I think I might take to burning them or something to make the elf's life easier. Either way I doubt Hermione would take the news well. Instead of accepting that maybe they were happy she'd merely argue they were brainwashed and double her efforts. I considered for a moment confounding her or obliviating the idea from her but that was too much of a betrayal for me to handle, unlike the Umbridge stuff I couldn't even pretend that this was for some greater cause, it would just be to make Dobby's life easier.

The room was perfect, of course it was, it became whatever I wanted. We'd managed to spread the word and now everyone knew where to be and when. I'd gone with my cloak to the Dungeons to collect Daphne and now we were waiting for everyone else to arrive. Repeatedly jaws dropped when they saw the room. Hermione seemed to be checking people against the list and I assumed we had everyone when she walked to the centre of the room. It seemed everyone else got the message and crowded around her in a rough semi-circle. I, Daphne and Ron were off slightly to the side and behind her.

"Right, first I think we should have a leader, someone we all listen to." Hermione declared.

"Rose." Cho Chang, the late Cedric Diggory's former girlfriend suggested straight away. I felt instantly wary. If I was known as the leader this would make my manoeuvring around Umbridge harder. Daphne picked up on this thankfully, and knowing her fate with Umbridge was tied to mine she interjected on my behalf.

"I think that works but it shouldn't be written down anywhere. We don't want any paper trail."

There were a few murmurs of agreement and nobody objected so Hermione spoke again.

"Is there anyone disagreeing, no? Alright then, now I think we should have a name."

What followed was both awkward and brilliant. The name Dumbledore's Army was chosen. I'd have to tell Dumbledore quickly and it we would have to consider what to tell Umbridge. If she thought Dumbledore was building a student army to use against the ministry, then they would try to remove him. If she remained thinking that his support was external, then he would remain.

"Alright, now if I'm the leader I want a quick vote. Can everyone who wants to start from the ground up and get skills, which while good for exams are more focused Defence itself stand on the left of the room and those that just want to focus on what's needed for the exams on the right." I instructed in an attempt to get an idea of what to do.

There was a pause before people moved, a few started to move right but seeing the direction the majority of people moved they all ended up on the left.

"Okay, that's good." I stated. "Now we'll start with the basics and move from there. Now if anyone objects I'll be more than willing to demonstrate the important of the basics. If this is as simple as everyone thinks then we'll move on quickly so don't complain. Now we'll start with a spell that features in OWL defence as an expected spell and also makes up part of fourth year charms. The disarming charm."

There were a few groans at this announcement but only Smith complained loudly. I called him out. I claimed I could beat him with first year spells while he was free to use whatever he wanted. It was a risk of sorts but a decisive win would do wonders for my authority.

We stood in the centre of the room facing each other. I could see in Smith's eyes that he was nervous but doing his best to pretend otherwise. I used a small amount of legilimency to have a look at his surface thoughts. He was planning a big curse, he'd only cast it successfully once before. It took a lot of wand movements though. An easy opening, he'd be slow off the mark. Ron was standing half way between us ready to officiate.

"Begin!" Ron shouted.

"Diffindo." I hissed, sending a first year cutting charm at the Hufflepuff, while mainly used to cut loose threads it could be altered by emotion to become something crueller. I didn't even expect it to hit him. "Flipendo." I stated forcefully as a follow up.

Smith aborted his first spell with the cutter coming at him and ducked which reduced his vision meaning he was unprepared for the follow up knock back jinx which threw him into the wall as if he'd been banished. In first year it had been the equivalent of a shove, now when I focused anger through it, when I wanted the spell to lash out it was positively violent. I used the first year levitation charm to relieve the crumpled Hufflepuff of his wand.

"First year spells, when used correctly are efficient, simple and fast. What Smith tried to do was beyond him and put him massively behind in tempo. He never stood a chance when he took so long to deal with my first spell and was unprepared for my second. Now I have his wand I could use a complicated curse like the killing curse and he couldn't stop me. This is why we learn Defence, so we are never helpless." I instructed to the silent crowd. I think there was a mix of awe and fear, I didn't really care so long as they were listening. "The disarming charm is quick and efficient, it gets us to this end point where our opponent has no way to stop whatever finishing moves we make, it is the simplest most efficient spell for this exact goal. If you are fast enough with it and accurate enough, who cares what horrible curses the other person knows. They can't cast them without a wand."

After that people were quick to pair up and begin practicing. I was able to move amongst them handing out tips. Several people were either lazy or to exacting, their focus so intense they were slow but they listened and there was noticeable improvement by the time we called an end to the session. I used my father's map to warn people of where Flich and the teacher were patrolling along with a guide to avoiding Peeves. I didn't reveal how I knew but Fred and George knew, everyone else just accepted it, likely as a quirk of the room. I didn't ask. Daphne would be going most of the way with the Hufflepuffs and it was late enough that most of her house would have gone to bed so I didn't feel the need to use my cloak to get her there.

Neville came over to me while we watched everyone else leave. Ron and Hermione lingered by the door but I waved them off when I sensed Neville wanted to say something privately. We watched them go and there was a pause before he spoke, his voice even more nervous than when he was talking to Snape.

"Rose, I wanted to say thank you for this, I got the spell right tonight and well, that's not normal for me. I was wondering if you have any tips for me. I know I don't ever talk about my parents but,"

I interrupted him before he could get any further.

"Neville, I have a confession to make. Last year when I was waiting for Dumbledore I fell into his pensive and watched one of the memories. It was the trial of the LeStranges and Crouch Jr."

"So you know?"

"I know."

"You haven't said anything." Neville pointed out.

"It wasn't my secret. If you wanted us to know you'd have said something. I think I of all people would understand how sometimes you don't want to be defined by your parents or their fate." I explained. "We both know I wish it hadn't happened but really what difference would me saying something make. I'm sure they were, no, are great people but you are your own person."

Neville sighed and a chair appeared behind him as he looked around. He sunk into the chair and slumped as if exhausted.

"Crouch is gone isn't he?" Neville checked.

"A dementor sucked his soul out before he could be interrogated properly." I confirmed.

"But the LeStranges still live. You say You-Know-Who is back." Neville stated his voice growing strong. "I believe you, my gran does too. He'll want his supporters which means he'll either bribe someone or break open Azkaban and they'll be back. I want to be ready."

"Neville." I tried to say something but timid, shy Neville asserted himself.

"No, I don't want to hear about it. Either I get vengeance or they'll finish the job and end the Longbottom line. I have to get better, I have to live up to my parent's legacy." Neville urged.

"I'll help you Neville but you have to help yourself. To stop someone like the LeStranges you either have to be supremely talented or willing to cheat and you are a Gryffindor, cheating goes against your nature."

"You say that like you're not one of us." Neville pointed out.

"The Hat wanted me in Slytherin. Over summer I had someone remind me of the potential of being cunning, I had the potential, I just had to accept that sometimes doing the right thing isn't the correct choice." I answered.

"Oh," Neville paused. "I still want to live up to my parent's legacy, they were some of the best aurors of the last war. I will strike down the LeStranges in my parent's name with my father's wand and then I'll find a way to help them."

"Your father's wand?" I questioned suddenly getting a strange feeling.

"Yeah." Neville said pulling out his wand. "Why?"

"Neville, where is your own wand?" I asked bringing a hand up ready to slam my face into it's palm.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked. My palm was employed.

"Oh Neville," I sighed. "you never went to Ollivander's?" He shook his head. "The wand chooses the wizard, most wands don't work for most people. I went through about fifty before I got this one." I explained. "You ever feel like you're doing the right thing but it feels slightly wrong, like something isn't working properly."

"I always thought that was me." Neville confessed. "I told you before how little accidental magic I did when I was young. I always thought I was just weak. My Gran told me I should use my father's wand to make him proud."

"Tomorrow we'll go to McGonagall and see if she'll take you to Ollivander's. If you need money just ask, I have plenty on me at the moment and I trust you to pay me back." I offered.

"But why doesn't my dad's wand work for me?" Neville asked confused.

"I don't know, you can ask Ollivander, but if I'm right you've essentially got this far with something holding you back. Imagine what you could achieve with a wand that works. Like the training weights taken off. If I had to guess I'd suggest that you're not your father, you're half of your mother too." I suggested. Neville nodded deep in thought so I suggested, "maybe you could set up a little shrine or something with your parent's wands and some photos. If you can help them then they'll be there waiting for them."

Ron and Hermione were waiting up when we returned to the common room but Neville marched straight up to his dorm a look of focus on his face.

"Everything alright?" Hermione asked.

"Fine, Neville just wanted to say thank you. You know how Snape is to him, even McGonagall gets fed up with him. To him taking the time to help him means a lot." I explained.

"I get fed up with him too in potions. He's ruined mine before when his stuff has exploded. Its hard enough already without him cocking mine up even more." Ron pointed out.

"Ron!" Hermione turned on him. "That's not nice, I'm sure Neville tries very hard and you know he doesn't do it on purpose."

"I know, it's still irritating though." Ron ground out. I couldn't help but laugh.

The next morning I was up early, I meant it when I offered to go with Neville to McGonagall. He wasn't in the common room when I got there so I had time to sit and write a letter to Harry. I thought he'd be interested in the DA. He'd done the hard work himself. He had worked harder than me though and was far more accomplished than me but I wanted to know his opinions on what was happening and ask for help in what to teach. I was able to call Jeevesy to me even though we were in Hogwarts which surprised me at first before I began to think of the possibilities. Harry was right, they really are useful. He popped out of the room just as Neville emerged looking determined.

"Do you want me to come?" I asked.

"Please, I know what I want but if you wouldn't mind." Neville spoke quietly as if ashamed to ask for help. Something I could empathise with. I simply got up and we walked toward McGonagall's office. We didn't have to wait long before the Head of Gryffindor answered.

"Yes?" She demanded.

"We have a request." I stated simply pushing Neville forwards slightly.

"Come in then." McGonagall sighed as she opened her door and let them into her office. "Well, out with it then."

"I need to go to Ollivander's" Neville spoke quietly but the determination was strong.

"What have you done?" Asked an exasperated Professor which I personally thought was a bit rude. I could see why I was here even if it was just for support.

"My Gran, she wanted me to use my dad's wand, make him proud you know? Only last night I found out I really should be using one of my own." Neville explained.

"Ah, in that case I believe congratulations are in order Mr Longbottom. You have successful passed years of schooling without the proper equipment. I do believe that you could be something special with a proper wand." McGonagall replied in a kind tone. "If you grandmother has any issues with you not using your father's wand send her to me. Augusta and I know each other well Mr Longbottom and I will convince her that being the best wizard you can be is the true way to honour your father." She turned to me. "Miss Potter, why are you here?"

"I was the one who told Neville to come to you, I was hoping that you could take him to Ollivander's so he could have his new wand for classes on Monday. We don't really have a wand based classes till Tuesday but if he doesn't go at a weekend he has to wait for the holidays."

"Well Mr Longbottom, do you wish to go now?" Neville nodded. "You have some money?" Neville nodded again. "Very well."

McGonagall sent a patronus to Dumbledore informing him that she and Neville were leaving the castle for the morning before escorting him to the Floo. I went back to the common room to make a start on my homework. A few hours later a very happy Neville returned wielding thirteen inches of cherry with a unicorn hair core. Neville sat ignoring his homework as he ran through years' worth of spells just practicing and getting used to the wand. He frequently over powered things and his levitation charm sent the book he was spelling crashing into the ceiling. I hoped that by Tuesday he'd have everything worked out or it could get messy.

Monday morning rolled around and with it came hours spent with Binns, Umbridge and Snape. If people ever wondered why people hated Mondays, then this year's timetable would be a good answer. As was normal on Mondays time stretched out as time proved it was as much of a sadistic bitch as fate. I kept my head down in Defence doing my best not to earn another detention. I had a Quidditch match coming up in a few days so we had increased training.

We won the match against Slytherin. Not that it was in any doubt. Despite Ron having one of the worst debuts in Hogwarts history the day I let Malfoy beat me to the snitch is the day I make out with a dementor. Unfortunately, being the petty bastard he is he'd wound up Fred and George so much they'd jumped him. Long story short they got themselves banned from quidditch by Umbridge. We had an emergency DA meeting that night where they learn the reductor curse. Blasting things into smithereens seemed like an effective form of stress relief.

The rest of the term began to blend together. With Dumbledore we continued our exploration of esoteric magics and the effect of emotions on the. We studied the formation of spells and how to use slightly more freeform magic when dealing with an unexplained problem. So much of it seemed to rely on feelings and gut instinct it was at times hard to remember it was magic at all until in a flash of light the mysterious problem was solved and whatever Dumbledore had attempted to hide was revealed. With Kingsley, we were now working much faster. Still everything we did was designed to practice skills and had to be non-damaging but I was becoming far more skilled.

The DA was moving along quite nicely. They were on track to catch up with the complete fifth year spell syllabus by mid-February at this rate which meant they would be ready for their OWLs. Their basic skills were improving too but we'd yet to incorporate any form of tactics. They could throw spells out but didn't know which to choose or when.

It seemed everything was going well which it perhaps why it all had to come crashing down on the last day of term. I knew things had been going too well for me. I didn't like Umbridge but she'd been marginalised for the most part as a concern to me. I should have known better that things aren't meant to go well for me which is why I was now wedged between Ginny and Ron, both crying as their mother and Dumbledore explained that their father had been killed while working for the Order. At some point in the night Nagini, Voldemort's snake had attacked Arthur Weasley while he was monitoring the Department of Mysteries, he hadn't been found until the morning by which point it was far too late. I knew what he had been guarding and it made me feel awful, it was the prophecy. We should have done something about it but I had grown lax. I could see this was weighing on Dumbledore as heavily as it was me. I was upset but I was relentlessly suppressing this as I tried to control myself. Arthur Weasley had been a good man, a kind man. He didn't deserve this and I wasn't sure how the family could cope without him. They were poor enough with his salary and now they were without. I didn't know what the wizarding world had for times like this. If it did do one thing however it confirmed that Voldemort was after the Prophecy. It gave us something to work with, a trap could be set and a one that didn't lead to the death of Dumbledore as it had in Harry's world. We hadn't spoken about Hufflepuff's cup in some time but if that could be dealt with then the only thing tethering Tom to this world was Nagini. If Snape could get to her while Voldemort came after us, then we could end this. 0

I was in a haze as I watched the Weasley's depart through the floo. I had been invited to go with them but they needed to be a family and I more than ever wanted to focus on vengeance. I couldn't manage the hatred needed to power the most violent of curses but righteous fury could be extremely destructive when channelled correctly. Hermione had hesitated but remained promising to be at the funeral like I had. It shouldn't have happened. The Weasley's were too good, too kind to suffer like this. If ever one wanted proof that life is not fair it was this. Hermione seemed to sense I wanted to speak to the Headmaster, for a moment or to it was clear she wanted to be involved but Dumbledore had asked her to leave.

"It pains me every time a former student dies. I know there cannot be a war without victims and the innocent are always the first to suffer but it never gets easier. Truly I hope it does not for it would mean I value each life less, every death is a tragedy. Too many and it can become but a statistic." Dumbledore sighed. Even Fawkes' trill was mournful.

"We have to end this soon. I'm not ready to do it by myself but we have to do this." I pushed.

"Indeed, I have a few things with which to buy the Goblin's favour. I have held out in hope it would not be needed but I shall return several goblin crafted items from the Hogwarts' collect to them. If you are unaware, the goblin's view the crafters of an item the true owner. Any purchase is merely a rental and when the buyer dies the item should be returned to the crafter or his family. In our society, what we buy we own. Neither is right, nor are either wrong but simply different. This should ensure the cup is destroyed." Dumbledore explained.

"Nagini will be all that's left." I pointed out.

"She will be hard to get to. I doubt we could lure her out like we might Tom."

"Snape can get to her though. If he tells Tom that I've broken out of school to get the prophecy, especially now Mr Weasley is dead he might accept I'm desperate. Tom would come after me wouldn't he?"

"Perhaps. If he does and Severus is left behind then Severus can slay the snake." Dumbledore answered realising the plan. "He might well send his Death Eaters in his stead. I think some of the Order chasing after you would ensure that he himself attempts to ensure victory. Even if he does show however I fail to see how you are ready to defeat him."

"Not yet, I won't be after Christmas either but there is a chance that I might be able to cheat. My cloak, how did you know where I was, will Tom be able to tell?" I asked thinking back to one of my earliest plans.

"Ah, I must admit that while it was in my possession I may have placed a charm on it letting me know where it is. It may hide you near perfectly but it doesn't hide itself quite as well." Dumbledore confessed.

"So I could hide under that and curse him in the back?" I asked.

"It would not be a noble way, but alas honour has little place in this conflict. I believe if he is sufficiently distracted it may work."

I felt good at that, still numb from Mr Weasley's death but now I had a purpose, might work was good. From there we could progress and refine it until we had a damn good shot.

"How long can you hold him for?" I asked.

"Not as long as I once could, holding him perfectly still would be even more challenging. I believe my presence might have him on alerts. While transfiguration is my forte it can lend itself to a rather tricky style which means he will anticipate distractions and indirect methods of attack."

Well that wasn't promising.

"So we'd have to do it without you?" I asked. It could be done, it would just be harder.

"Unless you can think of a way for me to be there but for him to not realise. Tom is overconfident, he may not truly fear me but he does his best to treat me with the respect I have forced him to have for me. More than once our wands have crossed and I have reminded him that he is but a student to me. To anyone else though, he will not see the threat. You would have to hold against multiple Death Eater's until the Order can arrive, potentially Tom himself were he to not wait." Dumbledore cautioned.

I stood and walked to the window. In a few hours I would be with Harry and Fleur, I hoped me going to the Funeral wouldn't stop us going to France. Fleur had really wanted to spend some time with her family.

"Polyjuice." I shouted, startling Fawkes. "You come with me as Ron or Hermione, together we can hold of the Death Eaters. If Tom arrives I'll disappear and try and get a shot. The order can hold the Death Eaters. Or you could be Moody or Kingsley someone who might be expected to stand up to Tom but someone Tom thinks he could crush."

"That might well work. Well done Rose." Dumbledore's praise felt good but it was quickly washed away as were all feelings right now. It probably wasn't health but I was basically a child soldier, after the war I could fix myself, for now I just needed to be able to function. "I suggest you leave now. You go and prepare. I shall consult Serverus, this plan hinges on his participation. If he cannot get to Nagini then Tom may escape albeit without a body once more."

I did as I was told and left. Hermione and I shared a cabin on the way back. We couldn't have conversation, neither of us knew what to say and we both felt hollow. Harry and Fleur were a refreshing sight on the platform but he picked up immediately that something was wrong. We took a portkey from the platform to Oaken Retreat. I deposited my trunk up in my room and returned downstairs where Harry and Fleur were waiting with three tumblers and a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Do we need to ask or will you tell us?" Asked Harry sombrely. I sat with them and felt Fleur's delicate hand squeeze my own in a silent show of support. The warmth flowing through her hand doing its best the thaw the ice that had surrounded my soul since I was told about Mr Weasley. I started the story slowly. I rambled about Mr Weasley as a person and expressed my need to be at the funeral. I told them about the plan I and the headmaster had come up with. Throughout Harry was silent. When I ran out of things to say he removed the lid from the bottle and poured a measure into each of the glasses.

"To the innocent, always the first to suffer. To the good man that was Arthur Weasley." Harry toasted. The whiskey burnt on its way down. I could feel water in my eyes that wasn't tears of sadness and I coughed, spluttered at the burn drawing a small laugh from Fleur. Here in the Retreat with the warmth of the whiskey flowing through me I let down my walls. I stopped filtering and let the grief come. I don't know how long I cried for. I wasn't aware how long ago Fleur had wrapped her arms around me but I knew when I was done the righteous fury was back.

"Train me." I begged of Harry. "I'll need every dirty trick I can get. I don't want to go head to head with any of them."

Harry said nothing, instead drinking another shot of firewhiskey. He looked to Fleur, in the time I'd been away they'd progressed to the point it seemed they no longer needed words.

"If she wants to fight she will fight. Zhe only zing you can do iz 'elp 'er." Fleur stated as she released me. I sat straight refusing to slump, refusing to show any weakness.

"This is a dumb plan." Harry protested. You don't know how many Death Eaters will be there. After everything I told you about never picking fights you haven't already won this is the fight you want to take?"

"I can't let it happen. When you told me over summer I would have to let people die until I was ready it wasn't real. They were a statistic, a number of people but Mr Weasley he was real. I'm not you, I can't do this. I have to fight!" I argued. I needed him, he was the first to set me on my path. He couldn't leave now or he'd be pulling the foundations out from under me

"Fine." Harry conceded reluctantly. "Fleur is right, you'd take this no matter what."

"I would." I confirmed removing any doubt from his mind.

"We'll start in the morning." Harry stated. "Go to bed, we don't have much time and most of the hard work will be after Christmas."

The next morning I woke feeling motivated. These holidays would last a fortnight, four days would be spent in France. These would be my holiday, the funeral for Mr Weasley was tomorrow afternoon and then we would leave for France. Upon the return, I would have a week to prepare then shortly after returning to school we would try to stop Tom. Jeevesy was happy to provide me with a breakfast, the little elf happy to have an extra person to care for. I would never truly understand their desire for work but I could accept, unlike Hermione, that they were not Human, they didn't have the same human desires as us. Harry was waiting out behind the house. The same place he had taught me much during the summer.

"Your letters say you've been training with an auror and with Dumbledore. That will help you in a fight but against the numbers they might have it won't matter. If Tom arrives with the Death Eaters, you'll have to run and hide until the Order arrive. We can grab Fleur and practice magical variations on hide and seek or we can work on traps. Cursing objects which you can leave behind. These could hurt the Order but might buy you the time you need." Harry warned.

"What do you think will happen?" I asked. He and Dumbledore probably could predict Tom's behaviour better than anyone else.

"Tom will come. He's too proud not to. He will try to kill you but he wants to hear the prophecy to know he can. He will likely send his minions first. He likes to order people about but if they are held up, the prophecy is too important to him to leave it up to them. Remember he believes that everyone is incompetent."

"So you believe he will show later." I checked.

"I do." Harry admitted. "Nevertheless, I wouldn't be confident enough that I'd risk my life on that assumption. The thing that will keep you alive is Tom is likely to have ordered his minions to leave you to him. Remember he wants everyone to know that he killed you. Anyone you take with you however, is expendable. They can be killed or used as leverage against you. Just because they cannot kill you does not mean you are safe either, they would have no issues stunning you and carting you off. A week later Voldemort publicly executes you in the middle of Diagon Alley and the country falls to him."

I nodded in acceptance. His cold calculating mind helping shape my decisions. He knew that I would prefer the truth to a lie no matter how comforting.

"Do you have any advice on how to pick my fights once the action starts?" I asked trying to be rational and squeeze out as much useful information as I could.

"Divide and conquer. You need to split them up. Either by using some confusion enchantment or other methods. Alone they are weak and you can pick them off at will. Tom will duel you if you call him out, he might duel anyone if they dare challenge him. His arrogance and twisted sense of honour means that a worthy opponent deserves a worthy death which he thinks only he can bestow. If they trap you then it might be your only chance. Even if you don't win it might buy enough time for someone to rescue you." Harry replied.

"What about when the Order arrive, won't everything become more stationary?" I asked.

"It will. It will perhaps be the mentally toughest point. If you fight too well, if you cut through their lines then the Order will force Tom to retreat. He is overconfident but not stupid. I doubt it will be an issue but to isolate Tom the Death Eaters must be engaged and held, not crushed. Man to man the Death Eaters are the better duellists but the Order, currently has the numbers." Harry answered.

Fleur came out to join us later. Since it was my first day back they didn't want to do anything stressful so we played a magical game of manhunt. Harry claimed it was to prepare me for sneaking around and avoiding Death Eaters but really it was just to have some fun. I had to start in the woods and to win I had to get a trophy which Harry transfigured for the game that would be hidden somewhere within the house. The only rules were nothing damaging, apparition was allowed as were non-lethal spells. I was allowed my cloak which I thought would give me an advantage. Fleur and Harry working together posed a problem. They were both Triwizard champions for good reasons and Harry had won his fairly. They had five minutes to prepare whatever traps they wanted but five minutes on a place as large as the Oaken Retreat and its surrounding land was nothing. I knew that by the time I reached the house they would have had more time but I knew I had a chance. In the five minute preparation I used sticking charms to stick the cloak to me and then set about covering myself in silencing charms. Unlike the other two I wasn't confident in silent magic yet so from the moment the sparks went up I'd have to use as little magic as possible.

The game began with a loud bang and a shower of sparks. I began to creep forwards. I knew the Retreat, not as well as Harry or Fleur who lived here but well enough to know the best places to enter. I managed to creep to the treeline without issue and no sign of either of them. All of the doors and windows were shut, likely with detection and alert charms all over them. They would know if I entered that way. I could try apparating in but I wouldn't put it past them to have put up an anti-apparition jinx. I heard a snapping of a twig and span on the spot. Behind me were wolves. I knew they couldn't see me but they knew where I was somehow. They began to spread around me and as one sniffed loudly I realised I hadn't supressed any scents. These wolves were almost certainly some of Harry's transfigurations. Oh dear, every moment I stalled he had a chance to transfigure more things. Soon I would be forced to reveal my position just to progress. The wolves had began to circle, if I didn't do something soon then Harry and Fleur could cast spells inside the circle until they hit me.

Praying that nobody was listening I apparated to the other side of the house away from the wolves and broke into a sprint until I was pressed against the wall of the house. I was sure that they were both in the house now and had heard my arrival on this side. Desperately hoping that they had been watching the wolves and therefore had to hurry to the other side of the house I quickly cast a transfiguration on a section of the wall turning into a small section of glass much like Harry had done in that horrific raid of his. I couldn't see anything. Of course, they could just be out of view or disillusioned. Either way I cast an unlocking charm on the front door. Honestly, I was a tad surprised that it opened, I had expected Harry to have better security or maybe I was tied into it. Either way I didn't question my luck and snuck inside. My luck lasted the best part of thirty seconds. Reasoning that they'd put the objective as deep as possible and therefore I headed towards the staircase only to trip on something. I didn't fall quietly and then suddenly from the landing came a storm of stunners. I gave up all attempts at secrecy and cast a shield. My shield held under the thudding noise as spell after spell impacted my shield, whoever was on the landing was relentless though leaving us at a stalemate. Of course a stalemate favours the one with friends so I probably could have predicted the spell that hit me from behind and left me tied up on the floor.

On the second-round I repeated my trick from the Triwizard and instantly summoned my broomstick when the sparks went. I was in the air less than a minute later and headed for the roof. Harry and Fleur's room had a balcony but they might well be observing from that. I flew as fast as I could to make myself hard to hit. No spells flew at me leading me to believe that they had been inside planning or setting up their traps. Landing on the roof I drew my wand again and crouched, pressing the tip of my wand to the roof tiles. It didn't take long to create a small hole for me to drop through. Silencing and cushioning charms muted my decent. I patched the hole up before it could be spotted or worse forgotten about. Silencing charms and my cloak went on again before I moved again. This time I would go slower and be wary of disillusioned tripwires. The attic that I had dropped in was more a mezzanine it was like and internal balcony extending out over half of the second floor. There were large windows at one end making the whole place a second lounge but with a great view. Warry of Hogwarts-esque trick steps I made my way down sideways shuffling along the banister. It was slow and clumsy but I succeeded in never touching the steps themselves. Arriving on the second floor of the house I had to begin searching for the trophy. Left or right was my choice from the bottom of the staircase, the master suite would make sense for a place for the trophy so I headed towards it slowly. I stayed alert employing some of the techniques Dumbledore had taught me. Magic always leaves its traces if one knew how to look and I was looking for more disillusioned tripwires or other traps. I hadn't bothered on the stairs since I suspected they were supported magically and I didn't feel confident in being able to tell what spells were what. I reached the door to the Master suite with no problems. Kneeling before it I used the transfiguration trick to scout the room. I didn't see the trophy but I only had a narrow view. I entered the room slowly, I couldn't hear anything but having been taught silencing charms by Fleur I knew all too well that they both were proficient. A loud bang outside caught my attention, I moved to the window and could see something had exploded outside. I didn't know what had happened but it seemed like at least one of them was outside and if they weren't they'd be investigating what just happened. Another noise from behind me and I span only to get a face full of what I think was bright pink paint. The whole area around me and the windows was now coated. The smirk on Fleur's face looked strange on her normally gentle and kind face but as she raised her wand again I realised that the cloak I was hiding under had been rendered useless. I just had time to raise my wand for a shield before Fleur's stunner hit my rapidly erected shield.

Realising what was happening I threw off the cloak lest it hinder my movement and slow me down. I knew Fleur was good with a wand but I had been training with an auror and Dumbledore. We were likely even. I would have to beat her however before Harry arrived to support her. Fleur hadn't been idle while I shrugged the cloak off. She now had several pieces of furniture orbiting around her. I had seen her and Harry do this before over summer, they use them like floating shields.

Trying to seize the tempo of the fight I cast a tickling charm, incredibly simple but had such an extremely simple wand motion that it was one of the fastest spells you could cast. Fleur swatted it aside contemptuously but my next spell, a full body bind was already on the way. She allowed a chair that had been orbiting her to take the spells while she send a incendio my way. Fire, I couldn't counter it with water since if her fire was stronger it would just evaporate the water, instead I sent a strong gust of wind at the fire, blowing it back at her. She waved her wand allowing the flames to dissipate. I used the time that I'd bought to summon the rug out from under Fleur's feet. The wooden floor beneath the rug allowed the rug to slide without much resistance. The graceful French witch went down in an undignified heap. I quickly bombarded her with stunners and body binds before an expelliarmus finally slipped through her defence as I ducked under a poorly aimed retaliatory jinx from Fleur. Now disarmed she couldn't stop my incarcerous from binding her.

"Well done." She congratulated me. As I swept my wand around trying to repair the room.

"Thank you, where's the trophy?" I asked.

"Harry didn't tell me, just in case. I hid it last time so it was his turn." Fleur answered. I'd been using a small amount of legilimency just to ensure she was telling the truth and unfortunately, she was. I didn't want to stun her, instead I used a sticking charm to stick her to a sofa at the foot of their bed, at least she'd be relatively comfortable until the round was over.

I tried to vanish the paint off the cloak but it didn't go, a scourify just seemed to smear the paint. I couldn't help but suspect Harry or one of his friends had specially created this spell to be a nuisance to get rid of, it likely had an exact counter-curse. I could try to break whatever magic held it together using some of the techniques Dumbledore had shown me but I had no idea how long it would take and it would definitely leave me open to an attack. I didn't bother trying, I was already suspicious as to where Harry was. He'd been the one to suggest dividing the Death Eaters one by one so I could pick them off so I would have suspected he would have been ready to step in and help Fleur. Either that or this was meant to be a proof of concept. I knew Harry was out there, likely with the trophy but why, why had Fleur been here waiting without support?

I left the room wondering, it hadn't made sense. I came across a few disillusioned trip-wires but there was no real sign of Harry. There weren't even missing rooms hinting that Harry had set up a fidelius. After half an hour having checked every room in the house I was frustrated. I decided to go back to the master suite to see if Fleur knew anything. She was looking annoyingly smug when I returned. Still in the same spot.

" 'ow's it going?" she asked in a casual way. It was too casual, she'd knew exactly how it was going. Whether this was because I'd returned frustrated or because this was some part of their plan I wasn't sure.

"Poorly." I replied. I turned around looking around the suite again.

"Rose?" Fleur called.

"Yeah?" I asked as I went to check the draws of the dresser.

"Stupify." I paused, Fleur didn't have her wand? The hesitation was costly as the spell hit me and the world faded around me.

I was woken to the smug grin of the French witch. I almost growled.

"Feeling okay?" She asked. Harry laughed from her side.

"Where was the trophy?" I asked. "I checked the whole house." I might have sounded petty but I didn't care, I had lost again.

"I'd shrunk it and put it in Fleur's pocket." Explained Harry as he flicked his wand around the room repairing the damage and vanishing all the pink paint.

"So where were you?" I asked, confused.

"Under my cloak watching. I freed Fleur about thirty seconds after you left the room. We've been waiting for you to come back." Harry replied. I really wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. "Alright, me and Fleur defending, you against us. I didn't care about why he'd wasted so much time, I just wanted to win"

"Sure." Harry replied. He gave Fleur a quick kiss on the cheek on the way out as he headed towards the woods for the starting position.

"So, where do you want to 'ide zis?" Fleur asked as she removed the shrunken trophy and resized it. I took some time. To consider the best points to defend in the house.

"I'll put it by the bar." I replied. The lounge had large windows meaning I'd have a decent view of anything coming and it was open enough that hopefully there wouldn't be too many things that Harry could transfigure.

"What do you want me to do?" Fleur asked.

"Can you put up curtains along all the rooms, like just behind the doors and walls?" I checked. She nodded but looked puzzled. "Harry likes to transfigure a section of the wall to be transparent so he can scout it out. If we put something behind that then he can't see in."

"Ah, clever." Fleur praised before setting off to do just that.

When the five minutes were up I set off to the front door to send up the sparks and start the match. Fleur was disillusioned on the balcony outside their suite in case Harry tried to enter though that and to see if she could spot him on his way. She'd lightly shaken her head as if she thought it was silly but hadn't said anything. I agreed with her for the most part that it was unlikely but if she showed a presence there it might hide the trophy location and reveal Harry's location. I stood guard in the main hall. If he came through either the front of back doors he'd pass through here. The curtains covered everything but if they moved I could curse that spot for all I was worth. I listened for the crack of apparition but the only thing I heard was a muted pop which I took as Jeeves cleaning up anything Harry missed upstairs in the master suite.

Nothing happened for a while until I heard Fleur coming down the stairs. I turned wondering why she was here. She hadn't said anything nor was there any sense of urgency to her movements.

"Fleur?" I questioned.

"'Arry sent up sparks, 'e 'as won." She stated simply. There was no doubt in her voice, she was certain this wasn't a trick. I didn't even bother to check the bar.

Harry was outside, looking cold and bored with the trophy next to him.

"How?" I asked simply more than a little annoyed that he'd won so quickly.

"I asked Jeevesy to fetch it for me. Useful little blighters house elves are." Harry responded smugly.

"Fine. You win." I ground out.

"I like winning." He stated before looking to Fleur. "Have I won a prize?" She laughed making me wonder quite what they had spoken about while setting up the game.

"Maybe, but after you explain where she went wrong." Fleur replied with a smile.

"Alright, but inside, its bloody freezing." Harry responded taking Fleur's hand and with a crack apparated her away. I sighed at his laziness before concentrating on the lounge and twisting. With a crack I joined them. Jeevesy was handing out hot drinks and I couldn't help but think that was a great idea. "Right, were do you think you went wrong?" Harry asked after he had a fire roaring in the hearth and we were all seated with blankets and throws taking away and remnants of the cold weather.

"I didn't check Fleur's pockets." I answered knowing it wasn't the right answer.

"Don't be petty, well done though on beating her." Harry replied.

"I don't know." I confessed. "There's so much going on, so many possibilities and with magic, its stupid."

"Indeed it is. There were no rules about be burying the trophy or hiding it inside a wall. Without a way to track it you might never find it. Against a regular person, you could use legilimency to see if they know where it is but against me it's pointless. Fleur is learning but you could probably break into her mind." Harry supplied. I found it interesting he was teaching Fleur. That meant to me she was here to stay, he was giving her the power to keep secrets from her and he had to trust her word.

"So I couldn't win?" I asked.

"Obviously you could. I did." Harry answered contemptuously. Times like this reminded me as helpful as he could be, he was a dick.

"You had Jeeves do it for you." I protested.

"Why didn't you?" He threw back.

"I didn't think about it." I confessed. He gave me a look that indicated that answer was obvious and he expected better.

"Rose, you never used _Homenum Revelio._ " Fleur reminded me softly as she put her drink down and her face turned serious. "I know that you want to fight but are you really ready?"

"Of course I'm not ready." I replied trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. "If I was ready this would all have been over already. I can't wait though, people are dying, good people. I'd rather have one deserving death on my conscience than hundreds of those that never deserved to die."

"But why does it 'ave to be you?" Fleur asked. "'Arry won't say, 'e tells me zat it is your zing to say. I understand 'e killed your parents but why does it 'ave to be you?" Despite the destress in her voice making me feel for her I was warmed by the fact she truly cared.

"Is her occlumency good enough?" I asked Harry.

"Even if it wasn't it would still be your secret and who'd think to ask her anyway?" Harry replied taking one of Fleur's hands and running this thumb along it.

"Right, before I was born a prophecy was made. It said someone born late July would have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. This much Voldemort knows, its why he came after me and my family all those years ago. What he doesn't know is that he was meant to mark me as his equal and that I would have a power he knows not." I explained.

"Your scar, ze mark?" Fleur realised. I nodded in response. "So it 'as to be you. Fate and magic 'ave declared it so." I wasn't sure about that so but the end result was the same. It had to be me. "Zis is why 'Arry 'as been training you. I zhought zat it was just because of ze the tournament."

Harry shuffled a bit closer and put an arm around her pulling her close.

"It's not fair, but it's the way it is." Harry offered trying to comfort her.

"It's not fair at all." Fleur confirmed shrugging out of Harry's arm and walking to the bar and collecting yesterday's bottle of firewhiskey. She conjured three shot glasses and started to pour. "To fate being a bitch." She toasted. Hell, I'd drink to that. The burn didn't seem as bad this time but it did bring back a painful reminder that Mr Weasley would be buried tomorrow.

The rest of the day and evening was mainly spent practicing some easy enough spells. I knew that we would be going to Fleur's home soon and it was unlikely we could have more flat out combat related training. It might be considered a tad rude. It would be more about practicing trickery, about finding ways to utilise common spells and practicing them ready to apply them in a combat situation. Harry also spent some time revising my mind arts. Sitting down chatting away as we through little legilimency probes at each other. He also had be run through a spell recognition test. Confronting the Faceless had several chapters dedicated to counter-curses but they were only useful if you knew what was coming at you. Compulsions and confounding also came out but were thankfully neutralised. For dinner we had a Chinese take-away something glorious and oh so different from the cuisine served at Hogwarts. We spent the evening quietly reading. Fleur curled into Harry's side was reading some fiction novel while he seemed to be engaged with a text on transfiguration theory that I'm sure would have gone right over my head. I was doing some of the required reading in an attempt to get as much of my homework done as I could before we left for France.

The morning of the funeral I was awake early having struggled to get to sleep. At some point I just gave up and had started on my homework. Thankfully due to my improved grades in class the teachers hadn't felt the need to saddle me with a great deal. Jeevesy delivered breakfast to my room when I didn't come down. The little elf stayed as he began to pack a bag for me for the next few days allowing me to push on. Transfiguration was the only subject I had left by the time a sombre Harry knocked on my door and informed me it was time. I quickly changed into the black robes that Jeevesy had laid out earlier before joining Harry and Fleur in the lounge. Having not really known Mr Weasley the were only coming to get me there but they'd still chosen mourning clothes since I'd have no way to tell them when I was finished which required them to stick around. While I was capable of apparating myself it was best to avoid questions and if I arrived without an escort of any kind then the Order might get twitchy and I'd miss out on Christmas with Fleur's family.

We arrived near the Burrow where we were meeting before making our way to the Weasley funeral plot. Even on the walk up to the crooked house I could feel an oppressive sadness, the house itself seemed to be drooping slightly and I would be surprised if inside there was any more energy. I led Harry and Fleur up to the kitchen door that functioned as the main way in and out of the house. Mrs Weasley answered the door, she looked pale and tired. Her normally jolly face seemingly broken, something within her shattered. She was happy to see me but even the greeting was hollow, we could all feel something was missing.

Harry and Fleur lingered around the edge while I made my way around the family members I knew. Ron was sad but there were tones of anger in him, he wanted to lash out, to get revenge but Hermione was at his side. Even Fred and George were serious, Mr Weasley had always tolerated their jokes better than their mother and they were respecting that this was neither the time nor the place for their antics.

Bill was standing strong trying to be a pillar his family could lean against but I could tell he was as shaken as the rest of them. Charlie was tired and not just from the late-night portkey he'd taken to return to England. Percy who last I had heard wasn't on speaking terms with the rest of the family was crying in the corner with Ginny next to him trying to provide support. The rest of the people I didn't know, they were family to the Weasley's but not immediate so I'd never met them. As I was floundering, unsure of the proper thing to do at a funeral Mrs Weasley announced it time to move to the funeral plot. A long rope was outside ready to act as a portkey. Harry and Fleur were either side of me as I took it and were able to keep me steady when we landed. They hung back as those who had been close to Arthur moved towards the location of the grave.

The next half hour or so was a moving tribute to a kind man's life. The Weasley's stuck together as a family and I was sure that together they would adapt and cope, maybe not soon but eventually. I didn't stay long, it felt wrong being there. Mrs Weasley's hug didn't even bruise my ribs, if ever you needed an indicator that something was wrong it was that. We apparated back to the Retreat and had a round of drinks before Fleur produced her international portkey.

International Portkeys I decided, are comparable to Voldemort with regards to how evil they are. I was doubled over on the floor for ages. The world had been spinning so long I still wasn't sure when the portkey ended but all I knew was this was a horrible way to die.

"She's being pathetic." Harry commented from above me.

"I'm dying." I replied from my spot on the ground as the world started to feel solid and stationary.

"I will apparate her the rest of the way." Fleur stated. "You 'ave the co-ordinates, yes?" I didn't hear Harry's response as I felt myself pulled to my feet followed by a horrible yet familiar squeezing feel. We appeared outside a pleasant looking farm house. This had to be Fleur's home, otherwise she'd abducted me and was about to sell me out to Voldemort. I was hoping for Fleur's home. I really hated magical transport, Floo, portkey and even apparition do not agree with me. Fleur supported me until my stomach stopped complaining and I could stand up straight. Harry had arrived while I was getting my bearings back and together we headed towards the house. Fleur was almost skipping with excitement by the time she reached the door.

"Do you speak French?" I whispered to Harry suddenly concerned, I'd allowed myself to ride Fleur's infectious wave of happiness with regards to coming here and now facing it I'd realised a problem.

"Some, you can't be in a relationship with a French girl for as long as I have without them trying to teach you a bit. I knew a bit before anyway." Harry replied, he smiled in what I assumed was meant to be a reassuring way. He wasn't as dismissive as he would have been if he'd expected me to speak French so I relaxed.

Fleur's family seemed as happy to see her as she was to see them. The inside of the house was full of Christmas spirt, I knew from primary school that the French did Christmas slightly differently, something about shoes outside on Christmas eve but I didn't really care. I was here to relax, decompress and enjoy myself. To be away from what was going on over the Channel and ignore the wider world for a bit. I hadn't been in the house long when a small blonde missile impacted my side, it seemed Fleur's sister was ecstatic to have me here and was happily babbling away in French. Looking around for someone to save me I saw Harry smirking at me. He wasn't smirking long as Fleur had finished hugging her parents and was now attempting to introduce Harry to them meaning he was on his best behaviour. Smug, charming git. He hadn't been lying when he'd told me he could be charming when it benefited him. Apparently, I just was never worth the effort.

The next few days were a haze of warmth, it was like the Burrow but without having to worry about what Fred and George had done to the food. At times I felt a bit uncomfortable about my lack of French but Fleur's parents were both fluent in English and little Gabrielle was trying her best. For the most part however it was the sort of family bliss I could only hope to achieve one day. This sort of thing was the reason I had to fight, everyone deserved the right to this, to be a happy family. The Delacours never hurt anyone but I knew that some people would despise them simply because of the Veela traits in their blood. It wasn't fair, I knew that life wasn't but isn't it our duty as living beings to try and make it more fair? Forever working towards an unachievable aim that might be as depressing and as soul destroying as merely accepting it. Then again, isn't that what fuelled Grindelwald? He thought he was doing his best to help people. He was going about it all wrong but some would argue him goals were noble. No people deserved freedom, freedom to be themselves. There shouldn't be any government trying to classify them or anything else, so long as they aren't causing other people trouble they should be left alone, to live how they wanted to live.

By the time we returned to England I was well rested and ready to work hard. Harry had been welcomed into their family as had I. They had certainly approved of Harry although I had seen Fleur looked amused at times when Harry's forced politeness overpowered his natural personality. The Oaken Retreat was home I decided, I knew that Harry still owned the flat and I could go there if I ever needed a getaway but somehow coming back to the Retreat felt right.

The next morning I was meant to begin my training but our breakfast was interrupted by two letters. They carried the same news but one was from Dumbledore, the other from Neville. Azkaban had been breached, the most loyal of the Death Eaters were free. According to Dumbledore, Snape had agreed to the plan and had informed Voldemort of the growing rift between myself and Dumbledore over the death of Mr Weasley and Dumbledore's worries I'd go after the prophecy. In response Voldemort had broken out his most loyal minions in preparation of seizing the prophecy when I went after it. Neville's letter contained a copy of the news article and he'd circled the names of some of the escaped. The LeStranges were free, the ones who had tortured Neville's parents into insanity. His letter was a request, he was almost begging to have more Defence training when we returned to school so he could get his revenge. I couldn't deny him, not when what was I doing if not training to get my revenge on the man who killed my parents? Then again, if the plan worked then maybe he'd never have to worry and kind, gentle Neville could stay in his greenhouses and not have to worry about fighting against evil.

"Well this makes things more difficult." Harry observed neutrally.

"I'm still going through with it." I replied shortly.

"I don't like it but the sooner it happens the better. The less time people like Bellatrix have to recover the better your chances." Harry commented.

After that we moved outside. Fleur came too and set about using a series of charms to make the area outside much more hospitable and remove the December chill from the air. Harry too was casting some spells that I didn't recognise. After a few minutes they were both ready. Fleur conjured herself a chair and a blanket to watch from while Harry stood facing me with his wand out.

"Are you certain?" He called. I nodded and he immediately cast a spell at me. Strangely it didn't seem well aimed and with minimal difficultly I let it pass by my side and cast a series of jinxes. He swatted them away easily and managed to squeeze out a window in which he replied but that spell was slightly wide on my other side. That should have given the game away but I was caught up in the moment and pressed the advantage I thought I had. I let loose a blast of water, something hard to simply shield, else I could have it swirl around him till he was trapped. He retaliated with sharp flicks, first freezing the water before blasting the ice fragments at me. Putting up a shield to protect me from the icicles I missed a step when he transfigured some of the icicles to snow which impacted my shield and stuck, I had to hold the shield as I could still hear icicles impacting on it but I'd lost all visibility. Before I could apparate or cast any other spells I felt something grab my legs. Roots from the ground were winding around my ankles while golems of snow seemed to be marching at me from behind. The air thickened as Harry cast an anti-apparition jinx preventing me from escaping. A couple of cutting hexes later and I was free but the snow golems were onto me. It was then that I realised that Harry hadn't missed, he hadn't been aiming at me at all. If I turned to face them I'd lose sight of Harry but I couldn't ignore his transfiguration. Employing one of Dumbledore's tricks I cast an incendio focusing on a righteous fury, defensive but heated. The flames bent to my will and whirled around me instead of pouring forwards. They continued to spiral outwards forcing Harry and his golems back but it did leave me open to Harry's hexes. I had to cancel the flames to deflect the spells which allowed his golems to advance again. I used the moment he reanimated them to send a stunning spell at him but he countered it before it was even close. Feeling trapped I send a jet of fire at Harry before heading towards one of his creations and blasting it with fire. Having been blinded by the fire I sent at him he couldn't stop me destroying the first golem. The second marched towards me ignoring the fate of its twin. I blasted it apart too but knew Harry hadn't been idle. Over the distance I'd put between us normal spells were too easy to deal with, instead he'd used the time to transfigure all of the loose stones in the garden into little stone spearman. He was rapidly casting spells over them, I suspected unbreakable enchantments and the like meaning they'd be hard to destroy. I wasn't close to his equal in transfiguration and I'd never manage to create my own force so I'd have to go on the offence before he could have them finished.

Marching towards him I began casting blasting curses, casting while moving was highly inaccurate but big explosions never needed to be precise. He rapidly transfigured a picnic table left from the days when the Retreat was an inn. It became metallic and was flung in between him and my curses deflecting them away from his creations and buying him more time. I sent another jet of water at him and his creations, he couldn't freeze it without trapping his soldiers.

Harry banished his makeshift shield at me which divided the flow of the water around it forcing me to abandon that plan before the former picnic table collided with me. Diving out of the way was frustrating but necessary, unfortunately it took me time to get back to my feet by which time a phalanx of spearman was marching at me. Harry supplemented them by unleashing a torrent of jinxes, some of which I recognised, some I didn't. Either way I was forced to defend all while his transfigured minions got closer and closer. I couldn't apparate away and I couldn't drop my shield. Either his arm would start to ache and I would have a chance or I would have to try something drastic. I dropped my shield and tried to levitate his minions into the path of the spells only to feel something resisting my magic. It took too long and soon my legs were locked together and I was fighting a constant tickling sensation. I was able to throw off the spells but found myself surrounded by the point ends of multiple shields. Harry had also moved closer meaning I would have less time to react if he stated to curse me again.

"Yield?" He asked.

"Fine." I conceded not seeing a way out of this.

"Jeevesy, some water please." Harry called as we headed back to where Fleur was seated. Harry conjured a pair of chairs for each other while we drank. "Comments?" He asked Fleur.

"You gave 'im too much time." She told me. "Transfiguration is powerful but slow. You need to close the distance and force him to act."

I nodded in acceptance. I agreed with that assessment. Harry had trained under Dumbledore himself for years, privately tutored in transfiguration. It was, other than the mind arts his strongest area.

"Your defence is poor." Harry commented.

"Pardon?" I asked making sure I'd heard correctly, my defence had been good, until I deliberately let the shield collapse I hadn't let a spell hit me.

"You didn't stop my first spells, you ignored them and it nearly cost you. Then you resorted to a wide shield which you needed to hold meaning you couldn't do anything else. I needed time and you gave it to me." Harry explained.

"But what else could I do?" I asked slightly annoyed, you kept throwing hexes at me. "I couldn't let any of them hit me and I can't swat them away as fast as you can cast them not to mention you can't counter things you don't recognise."

"You were behind in tempo early and that trick with the fire slowed everything down. Extra distance means more time which I made better use off. You were too content to defend when sometimes a counter attack that's more threatening can force an attack to hesitate. We cast small spells like leg lockers and tickling charms because they're fast and simple. Almost anyone can do them non-verbally and while they don't end a fight by themselves if they do hit they give you a window to end the fight, that being said, if you cast something huge like an unforgivable then you force a reaction and buy time to undo the small jinxes."

"I was told that unforgivable are too slow to cast, I think you've told me that before. Anyway I couldn't cast one at you." I protested.

"You just needed a spell to throw at me that was more dangerous to me that what I was doing to you. Something I had to deal with. Shielding everything meant that we were locked together while my transfigurations got closer and closer." Harry reasoned.

"How was I meant to deal with them anyway?" I asked. "After the anti-apparition jinx went up its not like I could just run them about."

"Don't let 'im create them. If you do 'e already 'as the advantage." Fleur interjected.

"There is another trick, a difficult and rare one that can help." Harry provided. "When you animate something, you must control it, to focus on its actions. Can you think of something that forces focus elsewhere?"

"Legilimency?" I realised.

"Indeed, you can sever the connection between the creation and its master by forcing them to respond. If they ignore or don't recognise your attack then you can simply inject feelings into their mind, make them weak and distracted. Anyone who has met a dementor when reminded of them automatically thinks of what they have been forced to remember. Anyone who can't throw you out, which is most of the population is also weak to compulsions and confounding. Those who can defend are forced to sever the connection to keep you out of their head." Harry explained.

"But what is to stop them cursing me while I try?" I asked.

"Nothing, its why you're constantly breaking their focus, if they can't focus their intent then their spells will fail."

"So legilimency wins duels by itself?" I checked.

"Why do you think Tom is so very good?" Harry asked. I could accept that. If all I could feel was despair and hatred, being forced to relieve my worst memories then I'd struggle to cast anything. It was the reason the patronus charm was so hard. Some people never understood it was much, much harder to produce in front of a dementor. Almost anyone with proper instruction could cast a decent patronus but only those with good enough focus and emotional control could cast a corporeal patronus when it really mattered. Heck I could get the DA casting a patronus in a few sessions but only a few would be able to use it against a dementor. Knowing you could helped a lot but you needed to be able to supress the effects of a dementor long enough to summon the happiness within you to fuel the spell.

"I used it against Smith," I remembered, "in my demonstration duel, I used it passively to know his opening move."

"Indeed, probably the quickest and safest usage. Be very careful though about what feelings you project towards Dark witches and wizards." Harry warned.

"Why, if I break their focus then they still can't cast anything? Feelings shaped intent Dumbledore says." I questioned.

"Do you know what makes something Dark magic?" Harry asked, his face serious. I was about to answer but then realised saying it was evil was the sort of incomplete Gryffindor answer. Reluctantly I shook my head admitting I didn't know the full details.

"Fleur, textbook definition please."

"It iz magic zat corrupts." Fleur answered succinctly.

"Indeed, it's about that corruption idea. Now it's an incomplete definition. One made by rich purebloods to explain away their heir's poor behaviour. Some curses, the unforgivables especially require a certain state of mind. You have to really want it, like my own curse you have to desire the effects. Now think of the type of person that wants that, either they're in a moment of extreme emotional weakness, for example a spouse catching his partner cheating might allow the casting of an unforgivable despite them normally being a mild and pleasant person. Or, or they can be a disturbed individual. Power corrupts and no spells give you a bigger rush of power than the unforgivable, that moment when you realise you hold complete power over another, whether they live or die, with the imperious you can gain complete control over them. It's dark magic if it requires a darkness within your soul to cast. A person corrupted by power or events. Some rich purebloods in charge of making the laws declared it the magic itself which does the corrupting but no, it's a requirement to cast the spells. That way their heir was fine and normal but was seduced by dark magic rather than being a cruel and evil little brat who wasn't brought up properly." Harry explained.

"Fleur, you up for a round?" asked, moving away from our tangent into magical theory.

"Sure, I owe you for ze round in ze bedroom." Fleur responded haughtily as she stood and flicked her long hair over her shoulder.

Facing Fleur was going to be different to Harry, less transfiguration, more charms based. Both of them liked an indirect way of attacking rather than just cursing me to the face.

"Begin!" Harry called from the middle.

"Legilimens." I hissed thrusting my wand forwards. Fleur was learning the mind arts in her spare time, she hadn't spent five hours a day on it like I had. I was the better at this. Immediately she attempted to focus on something, she ended up focusing on the Retreat. I used this, I pushed the feelings resentment and a lack of belonging, all the feelings I associated with the Dursley's towards her mind. This was magic, this was far more complicated than waving a stick around and saying a few words. As I suspected her filtering let her down and she shot to her feelings to Harry, I latched on and pushed the idea of family forwards. She couldn't stop herself as it formed the idea of a family with Harry and there, she thought of Gabrielle. I seized that thought. I made Fleur remember the second task, that sense of failure wondering if she'd ever get her sister back. I could feel Fleur's panic, her pain and her sadness. I cancelled my spell and unleashed a series of hexes. Fleur's focus was gone, she was slow to react and immediately forced to defend. Still she was a strong witch. She was resolute and now extra motivated. There was nothing nearby that I could use to shake her like I had in the bedroom, I would either have to overwhelm her or transfigure something. I'd eased off while I thought, casting school corridor jinxes that didn't require any thought or attention to cast. I'd relented enough that she had dropped her shield and was now retaliating as she combined the motions of swatting away my spells with slashing back in my direction with minor cutting curses in a way I knew Harry favoured. This is what they'd meant by my poor defence I realised, I never combined defence and offence I was far more binary. Either way I had cutting curses headed at me. I quickly summoned Harry's shield from our earlier duel to intercept the spells before banishing at Fleur. I ducked underneath it and sent a series of tripping jinxes under her eye line which was now full of the transfigured picnic table. A complicated wand motion from Fleur had the table fold in on itself as it became a metallic swan and flew up and over her. She failed to see the tripping jinxes however and stumbled, falling to the ground. I closed the distance and forced the issue bombarding her and forcing a strong but static shield. This is countered by flooding with a huge jet of water. Forcing her to turn her shield into a bubble. I focused my will and using no real spell I began to get the water to float and circle her, trapping her within. I was feeling smug, it was the second time in a row I'd beaten the best Beauxbatons had to offer. The red light shot from the water therefore caught me completely by surprise. I just had enough time to groan as I lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

I wasn't stunned long, all of the water that I'd conjured had lost what was holding it together and consequently it crashed to the ground and went everywhere. Cold water it turns out is almost as good as enervate at waking people.

"How?" I coughed out when Fleur came to check I was alright.

"I used ze bubble-'ead charm but I made it bigger, it was all around me. I zen stuck my wand out and cast at where I zought you were. I was lucky it 'it you." Fleur explained. I nodded in acceptance.

"What have you learnt?" Harry asked as we made it over to him and he gave us a quick look before gesturing us inside despite the charms Fleur and Harry had put up to make the outside more pleasant I was now cold and damp and wanted a hot bath to ease into.

"Fleur doesn't know when to give in." I grumbled. The French witch gave me a dazzling smile and looked pleased with herself.

"You haven't won until it's over." Harry corrected me. "She was losing and desperate. She might have been lucky but you could have been dead. When you have the advantage you end the fight." His tone was serious enough to remind me of what I was training for and the last of the adrenaline that had kept me excited and happy drained out of my system and I remembered how far I had to go in only a week and a half or so.

"I'm not even close to ready, am I?" I asked, my voice quiet as the enormity of what I was trying to do washed over me.

"As I've said before, killing a man is scarily easy. Living with it is harder. You only have to focus on the easy part first. What you've done with this plan however is make it harder. Tom is hard to kill because he's never out and about, never alone ready for you to pick off. He also has insanely good reactions and is paranoid when he isn't being massively overconfident. Your plan could work fine, you could get a cheap shot out from under your cloak when he's monologuing and it's all over. That being said, you could have to fight your way through Death Eaters to even have that shot. I don't like this plan because of the number of unknowns. There is too much possible variance and you can't control it. Anything that requires luck means you haven't prepared enough. You're already far better than the average adult but you're not going up against an average person, you're going against the best."

I understood his reservations. Heck I didn't think it was a great plan, I just couldn't think of a better one. I think that was the opinion of all the adults involved too. I doubted Dumbledore wanted something as dangerous as this but it was a chance to end this before it really began.

"I'm going to go have a bath and feel sorry for myself for a bit." I informed him. To think, six months ago, even admitting something like that would have never happened but Harry and Fleur were my own little family as new and fragile as it was, there was something about it that let me relax. Here I could be snarky and sarcastic when I wanted to be and I didn't have to fear anything but a sharper wit. Here I could be open with how I felt in a way I'd never before let myself, if I thought about how this year would have been without Harry and Fleur, it would have been awful I decided as I settled into the bath Jeevesy had prepared for me. If it wasn't for them I'd have been an emotional mess over Cedric, I'd still have the horcrux in my head making me feel like crap. I'd be more short tempered and righteous, I'd have resisted Umbridge completely. While the DA might still have happened, my detentions would have been real and I wouldn't be learning from Dumbledore. I might have been closer to Ron and Hermione than I had been recently but I'd be harder to deal with in general. Thoughts for another time I decided as I tried to relax and think about how not to be bested by Harry or Fleur next time.

I emerged from the bath in time for a late lunch before Harry set me a task. He reminded me of the disillusioned tripwires I'd fallen over in our manhunt game. His challenge was to work out a way of animating the cable so it would set itself up. If I could have it prepared in advance then if I needed to separate and slow down the Death Eaters having things like this prepared in advance would be extremely useful. I started with a length of cable, sticking charms on each end seemed like a good starting point. It would take too long to manually stick it so it had to be animated somehow. Making fruit dance on command was first year, trying to explain to a piece of string what the difference between the wall and the floor was something completely different. In the end I compromised, I had a small packet that when activated banished out the cable from both ends and they stuck to whatever they hit. It wasn't great enchanting but object enchantment was NEWT level so I was happy with this. It wasn't quite dropping it and leaving it to do the rest but this would take seconds. I also could disillusion the cable beforehand. Fleur helped me refine it a bit so it activated on a pull cord which was the only visible thing. When I removed that the whole thing was almost invisible. I spent the evening duplicating it before carefully placing them all in a bag. Hopefully they would never be needed but it was better to be prepared than to need them and not have them.

Fleur had to return to work the next day. I felt like I was intruding slightly as I watched Harry wish her goodbye but it did free Harry up for the rest of the day. We spent a lot of time working on my legilimency, working on the speed I could send something that would distract my opponent if they weren't prepared. Harry worked on this while sending occasional stinging hexes in an attempt to get me to split my focus. I could see the advantage, if someone was completely focused on what was going on in their own head then they were vulnerable in the real world. Regrettably I wasn't at that level yet. I lacked the years of experience in the casual use of the mind arts that Harry had. I could filter constantly and when used my occlumency was strong but I couldn't do that and focus on casting spells at the same time. The only thing I had going for me in defending against it was legilimency was a connection and it wasn't entirely one way. I could therefore get some warning before he attacked.

In the afternoon, Harry produced his pensive and we tried a couple of memory transfers. The spells I picked up were big ugly things for use only under extreme circumstances. One was almost stupidly excessive. It was called the Light of the Morningstar, it was meant to be a beam of pure light that purged all darkness from the world. It set fire to anything it deemed tainted by darkness. The downside was it was so bloody bright it blinded the person casting it and everyone else. A last resort spell used when one was desperate or a complete idiot. The other was a multi-person stunning spell but it required all of the targets to be very close. It was a useful spell no doubt but it was very situational. It also didn't stun for long at all.

Fleur arrived back tired from her long day and I disappeared off into my room so Harry could do whatever he felt the need to do to make Fleur feel better. While it was likely completely innocent I still felt uncomfortable at times watching them interact. I spent the time before dinner just working through a bit more of Confronting the Faceless. I also re-read a chunk of the text book Moody had set in forth year. While we often worked without it, the book itself was good although it didn't seem to respect the nuances of the Dark Arts in the same way Confronting the Faceless did.

After dinner we were all gathered in the lounge, wizarding chess I discovered is a very different game when someone is constantly trying to rip you plans from your mind. Harry cheated was all I really learnt from the experience before refusing to play again. Fleur's amused laughter didn't make me sulk any less. After that we sat talking about my transfiguration homework. Fleur's feet were in Harry's lap as he absently massaged them while he spoke about why switching spells could be used on magical substances while they could not be conjured. I was scribbling down as much of his knowledge as I could, I'd go back and rewrite it later but it wasn't often you got access to Dumbledore's former apprentice for your homework. It might not be a citeable source but it was far more understandable than the textbook Hermione had recommended. A small part of me wondered if she had used a better one and was still being petty about me regularly beating her in practicals this year.

Fleur wasn't an expert on Transfiguration in the same way she was for charms but she had still got the equivalent of an O on her equivalent of NEWTs, she just wasn't a prodigy. She was however more than willing to talk about the overlap between charms and transfiguration. Turning wine to vinegar was a charm based around aging but it could also be achieved as a transfiguration provided you were skilled enough. Vanishing was also called a charm yet taught in transfiguration and her insight might get me a few more points in the theory side of the OWL. I became depressed when I realised that as useful has her knowledge was it could only be applied if I lived that long enough to sit the exams and for me that wasn't a given.

The next morning after Fleur left for work I asked Harry to conjure some targets and I worked through a few of Kingsley's exercises. Harry thought they were a tad simplistic so animated the lot of them and had then changing colours depending on if it represented friend of foe meaning I couldn't just curse everything I had to evaluate what I was cursing. Harry didn't want to duel without Fleur there in case something went wrong, so this was the best I was going to get unless I could convince Harry to have a guest over. Dumbledore might come for a day and if he duelled Harry that would be an interesting duel, I'd ask Harry about it later and have Jeevesy take the letter. Fleur might moan about missing it but I'd leave her a copy of the memory so she could watch in Harry's pensive.

I knew I only had four days left before I returned to Hogwarts so I wanted to make the most of Harry who was a resource I wouldn't have access to while I was at Hogwarts. In the afternoon I pestered him enough that he let me view a copy of his memory of his duel against Voldemort in his world. I watched it alone as Harry claimed he needed to tend to some of his potions.

Fleur agreed with me that Harry should ask Dumbledore to come over for a day, with the two of us asking he relented and allowed me to send Jeevesy out with an invitation. Dumbledore quickly accepted claiming he could do with a work out. I'd promised Fleur memories of everything that happened but I could tell she was reluctant to leave the next morning. It wasn't even concern for Harry, she had faith in him but even in France Albus Dumbledore was a legend of a man. The chance to see him in action was a rare and special event.

Standing outside the Retreat I could feel I was on the edge of something special. There was and energy in the air as if magic itself was watching in anticipation.

"Which wand are you using today Albus?" Harry called.

"Forgive an old man his crutch to lean upon." Dumbledore replied gently and yet his voice carried across the distance easily. I wasn't sure quite what they were talking about but they understood each other. Harry sighed and rolled his shoulders slightly checking his freedom of movement.

"You know, I haven't practiced with you since I was in fifth year myself. I owe a version of you for pulling me away from my world though." Harry commented.

"I would remind you that while he and I are the same we are also difference but I feel it would do me little good. Rose, my dear, I believe we are ready." Dumbledore responded before bowing to Harry who bowed in return. There was a moment when everything went silent, I could have sworn all of the wildlife had gone quiet to watch this.

"Begin." I called and stepped back to get a more complete view.

At first neither moved before with a crack Harry apparated he appeared behind Dumbledore non wand arm. Dumbledore with no sense of urgency what so ever lazily twirled and apparated away moments before a yellow curse sailed by. He reappeared where Harry had originally stood and sent out a curse which seemed to blow all of the grass around it away with its power. Harry thrust his wand towards the ground and some of the turf rose up and collided with the spell. As the remnants went into the air Harry transfigured them into snakes but with a wave of Dumbledore's wand and a sigh they became butterflies and dispersed. Dumbledore began to stroll towards Harry lazily as he whirled his wand above his head producing a huge flame whip which he snapped towards Harry. Harry conjured some sort of shield over his non-wand arm which he used to deflect the whip before swinging his wand like a club towards Dumbledore who apparated away before Harry's spell impacted the ground with a large 'boom' sending more dirt everywhere. Harry instantly apparated to where Dumbledore stood at the beginning of the duel as Dumbledore reappeared on the roof of the Retreat.

"You can't use my home as a defence Albus, that's just not right. How would you feel if I started tearing Hogwarts apart?" Harry shouted up to the man on the roof.

"I understand. Perhaps I was getting carried away." Dumbledore replied. With a crack, noticeably more muted and subtle than Harry's Dumbledore apparated to where Harry had stood in the beginning. "It seems our positions have been reversed."

"The student is now the master?" Harry asked as he waved his wand around conjured a huge gorilla which began to charge Dumbledore who with a casual flick transfigured it into a small chimp wearing a muggle suit who then wandered over to sit near where I was standing. In the meantime, Harry had cast a spell that had sent out a wave of smoke hiding his movements. Dumbledore swept his wand out and a gust of wind blew away the smoke, Harry had somehow vanished, not that it concerned the headmaster who walked casually towards the centre of our outdoors space. He began to wave his wand in small circles and had shut his eyes, I wasn't sure what he was doing but it seemed to work as he wheeled around just in time to deflect a yellow curse aimed at his back. The impact seemed to cause him to stagger slightly before Harry sent a set of conjured chains at Dumbledore who raised his wand ready to transfigure them.

"Legilimens." Harry cried out as he thrust his wand forwards. I could tell the headmaster was beginning to throw him out but it was a tad slow and a he hadn't left himself time to deal with the chains properly. They impacted hard against his side where he had tried to step out of the way. Harry had animated them as they tried to crawl their way around the headmaster but he transfigured them into curtains which covered him before falling to the ground as Dumbledore vanished. Harry used the time to summon all of the pebbles in the garden and have them orbit him as he stayed alert. Dumbledore gave away his position when he send out what seemed to be a bolt of lightning. Harry seemed to catch it on the end of his wand and absorb it until it launched itself into the ground singing the grass just in front of him. Harry's retaliation was immediate, every single stone launched itself at Dumbledore who seemed to be wheezing slightly. Somehow despite the blow to his side Dumbledore threw up a shield which seemed to turn the pebbles to dust as they passed through. The dust whirled around before launching itself back at Harry as a large cloud. A swipe of Harry's wand blew aside the dust only to reveal a curse following it up which Harry didn't have time to deal which. I could see him flinch just before he was transformed into a koala.

"I do believe I have won." Dumbledore declared. "That was quite fun now wasn't it." The headmaster send a bolt of light towards koala Harry who was untransfigured into a dishevelled heap. He looked less than impressed with the result.

It was a clear reminder that I was outclassed. They were on another level to me. Picking himself up from the ground Harry made his way over and we all headed inside. Harry heading straight behind the bar in the lounge and pulling out some firewhiskey.

"Anyone else indulging?" He asked but the headmaster declined and I didn't want to drink in front of Dumbledore. It didn't stop Harry pouring himself a measure which he quickly drank.

"Well, was that sufficiently educational?" The headmaster asked and all I could do was nod.

"Rose, you have your own pensive, show him your practice with Fleur and me." Harry instructed.

I nodded in acceptance as he left to do something. Being a version of me it was probably go shout at something or otherwise vent any frustration. I called Jeevesy to collect my pensive and I deposited the relevant memories. Dumbledore followed me down as we descended into the bowl. He said little as we watched the memories play out but I could see him smile at points. I was getting nervous as he said so little.

We emerged from the pensive with Dumbledore still quiet. I had to fight the urge to twitch slightly. I watched as Dumbledore slowly unwrapped a small sweet and popped it into his mouth.

"Ah the best things really do come in small packages." Dumbledore observed.

"Sir?" I asked.

"Oh yes, Rose my dear, I would assume you want some guidance based on what I just witnessed?"

I nodded. Sometimes the man did tend to just bumble around instead of getting to the point and it could be irritating. Luckily for him he was probably the most powerful and skilled wizard in the world so nobody ever called him out for it. Harry might but that was different, in Harry's world they were friends.

"Well, in my opinion, and if I do say so myself people tend to put great stock in my opinion, you are well above where you would be expected to be for someone your age." Dumbledore commented.

I felt like punching a wall. That wasn't helpful in the slightest and so I kept quiet hoping that he'd take that as an invitation to keep talking.

"You seem unimpressed with my observation." Dumbledore noted. "It is a pity but for all my years I have never discovered the secret to becoming a great duellist overnight. From what I saw you did well, you made some mistakes but you are far ahead of your peers. There is no substitute for experience I'm afraid. If I may be so bold as to suggest one thing, it is that you believe. An oft forgotten aspect of magic is belief. Compare your friends Miss Granger and Mr Longbottom. Both talented young students but which has more belief in themselves? Without belief, your intent falters. Belief powers magic, what is confidence if it is not belief in one's self. I cannot convince you that your plan will work nor should you pretend to believe that nothing could go wrong but you cannot succeed if you do not believe." Dumbledore cautioned.

I nodded in reluctant acceptance. While deep down I should have known better than to have hoped for some miraculous insight that makes everything easy when Dumbledore is involved there is an expectation that things will be special.

"You're still not happy." Dumbledore ventured. "Perhaps I can give you some information that may help but I fear we do not have the time for you to truly comprehend its importance. My dear where do spells come from?"

"People create them." I responded.

"Are spells created or discovered?" Dumbledore pushed.

"Invented." I answered, thinking back to theory lessons we'd had in class.

"Do you consider inventing the same as creation?" Dumbledore asked.

"I guess." I replied hesitantly as I wondered where this was going.

"Do you create new magic with a new spell or do you merely find a new way to shape what already existed, to use magic in a way not done before?"

"Magic has been around longer than spells."

"Indeed. Where do the incantations come from, why does magic listen to those words and act in the way we wish?" My lack of understanding must have been clear on my face for the Headmaster continued. "The words are often an offshoot of the language of the time. They mean something to creator of the spell, something that wouldn't come up in normal speech but it meant something to them. They believed in the power of those words and magic complied."

"But then where do mistakes come from? I still remember Flitwick warning us about pronunciation." I asked. Dumbledore smiled.

"I do believe Filius has made that up. How else would the French or anyone else with a strong accent have access to the same spells we do?"

"But then why?" I floundered.

"If you have to believe in magic for it to work then you need a reason to believe. If you have no doubt then you will be fine. Filius gives you a reason to believe, if you are sufficiently precise then you will succeed. Anyone who doubts has a clear reason, their wand motions and incantations are wrong, if they improve those then they believe will get it right."

"So incantations and wand motions are a lie?" I asked stunned as my whole view on magic changes.

"They aren't a lie, they have power if you give it to them. If you believe, if you practice with them and know they will succeed then they will not fail you."

"So why do advanced curses have such complicated motions?" I asked.

"Do you not think that it is only fitting that a complicated spell should have a complicated requirement. Remember, if you doubt then you are weaker, surely if you felt cheated by such a simple requirement you might doubt the spell?" Dumbledore replied with an amused smile.

I thought about Harry's custom curse. A deadly curse with a deliberately short and simple wand motion and incantation.

"Does this mean now I know this I don't need the motions or words?" I questioned.

"I do not believe so. You have proof that following the laid out steps brings results. Changing it leads to potential doubt but alas that is not what I am trying to teach you, it is merely a requirement for something far more practical."

Dumbledore talking about something practical made me sit right up and pay attention. He was a master of the esoteric which in and of itself often deviated from the practical.

"Rose what does incendio mean to you?"

"It's a fire spell." I replied. "It can be influenced by emotion to make it burn hotter and more viciously. Feeling of protection can make it act as a shield against some things."

"You're close to accepting what I am about to tell you." Dumbledore commented. "What are the limits of the spell?"

"I don't understand the question."

"What limitations does the spell have, you can use it for lighting fires, for sending jets of flames at your enemies, for burning things but what can't you use it for?"

I stopped to think. It was the simplest fire spell. It could be used for anything involving fire. Surely its limits stopped there?

"It can't do anything fire can't?" I checked.

"Perhaps." Dumbledore replied with a smile and his eyes twinkled with joy. "Why can you use fire to protect you when you channel certain feelings into it?"

I wanted to remark that it was because he had told me it could but I held my tongue and tried to analyse Dumbledore's lesson. He had a tendency to teach in a manner that gave you small pieces and it was piecing them together that gave insight and knowledge.

"Because those emotions shape your intent and give you a reason to believe that the magic will act like that?" I ventured.

"Precisely. The only limits on the spells you already know are those that you yourself impose upon them. An incantation means something to each of us. If you believe that you can find meaning in a spell, if you believe that it will do what you ask of it then you can use known spells to achieve great things." Dumbledore replied looking pleased. I think I understood what he meant by there not being time for me to truly grasp all of the implications of what this meant.

"Why doesn't everyone know this?" I asked quietly.

"They simply do not need to." Dumbledore sighed. "Magic to most is a tool, to one who studies its mysteries it is so much more. What you learn at Hogwarts, the curriculum taught allows you to go out into the Wizarding world and be a citizen. To function and to live, why question the how when it works. They can focus on things like their family and their business leaving the pursuit of greater meaning to those of us concerned with such things."

I could accept that I supposed. A shopkeeper in Diagon Alley would need certain spells to do their job. They never needed to push the boundaries of magic, to find the limits of what is possible. It likely never crossed their mind that they could do so much more because they didn't need to. Necessity drives innovation or whatever the saying was. Comfort leads to complacency but there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, I envied their normality. I envied the fact they never needed to worry about Dark Lords set on killing them. If their greatest concern was what was for dinner that night, then they were the luckiest people on the planet in my mind. Ignorance truly was bliss but not for the reasons that I'd been told before. If you could afford to be ignorant, then you already had bliss. Damn I'd spent too much time with Dumbledore over the past few months when I was basically thinking in idioms and proverbs.

"Rose." My name snapped my attention back to the present. "Think on what I have said. Do not fear death like Tom does and you will be able to face him without fear. Without fear one has room for belief which is the key to success. Tom has succeeded because so many do not believe he can be beaten."

With that Dumbledore departed leaving me alone with my thoughts. I walked over to the bar and grabbed a butterbeer. Going back to the sofa I kicked off my shoes and put my feet up as I tried to process what had been said. It was all stuff I could invest years into investigating afterwards but for now I had a war to end before it really began. Dumbledore had talked about the importance of belief and a lack of doubt. Maybe I should get Harry to confund me into thinking Tom stood no chance. I found myself thinking back to my first year, about what Percy had told me on the night of my own sorting. Dumbledore was a genius, the greatest wizard in the world but yes, he is a bit mad.

At some point I made copies of my memories for Fleur and for my own growing collection but the rest of the day seemed to pass in quiet contemplation. Harry hadn't reappeared and Fleur was working meaning I was alone. Jeevesy popped in at some point to take away my empty butterbeer bottle but other than that I was all alone.

Fleur's return seemed to bring life back to the house. She'd gone straight up to the room she shared with Harry to shower and get changed into pyjamas but when she came down she brought Harry with her. He seemed in a much better mood that when he had been around earlier.

"So, which speech did you get this time?" Harry asked.

"He told me about belief." I answered.

"Ah that one. If magic was faith, then Dumbledore would be the archbishop or Pope. You'll do what you have to do. Did he give you that rubbish about having no doubt?"

"He did." I replied smiling as he began to ease my worries.

"Having no doubt is impossible. Its like fear, he has probably told you all about how one cannot be brave without knowing fear and all that. How it's our actions that matter, so long as that doubt doesn't stop you then it doesn't matter if it exists or not." Harry continued.

I nodded in acceptance. Dumbledore had told me before it was okay to be scared, I'd been confusing feeling doubt with allowing doubt to influence my actions.

"Enough of zis." Fleur declared. "I 'ave been at work, I want to 'ear about something more relaxing."

The beautiful woman tended to get her way in this house and so we talked about her day and possible holiday destinations. It seemed Harry and Fleur wanted to travel a bit after this was all over and I was welcome to join them if I wanted. Just talking about having an after was relaxing me more than they knew.

The last three days of the holidays were a blur of training, making sure my muscle memory was fresh and that I was as ready as I could be. In those last few days we didn't dare try and cover anything new, instead we doubled down on my basics, the things I could fall back on when everything else fell apart. We also prepared a few more things that could be considered cheating but I was well past honour at this point. Dumbledore had sent me a portkey to get back to school, it seemed he wanted to talk to me instead of having me ride the train.

Waiting to take the portkey felt surreal. The Retreat, my home, this could be the last time I saw it. Harry and Fleur standing together, it might be the last time I saw them. If I failed Harry could just swap realities again, there was nothing holding him here.

"Rose, wait a moment, I have something for you." Harry declared as I reached out for the portkey, tears almost forming in my eyes. He produced a vial of golden liquid that seemed to be bubbling slightly.

"Er, thank you." I said not understanding what he had passed me. Fleur's eyes had gone wide at the sight however so I began to suspect it was much more than I had originally thought.

"Iz zat?" Fleur started before Harry interrupted with an explanation.

"Felix Felicis, liquid luck."

"What?" I flustered

"It is very expensive and highly toxic if taken in large amounts. Fleur would you give us a moment please?" He asked. Fleur looked a bit miffed but acquiesced. "It takes six months to brew. I had started this batch after I was pulled from my reality, I thought if I took it then did the ritual I might be lucky enough to get back to my home world. This is all that I brewed, it will take another six months and a small fortune in ingredients before I could make another batch. I ended up coming here because I didn't feel I had time to finish the batch in the first world I was pulled into. What you hold there was my hope of getting home."

The little vial felt very heavy all of a sudden as the weight of what this vial meant to him hit home.

"I don't know what to say." I replied honestly.

"You don't need to say anything. I'm starting to like it here. I think I like Fleur, at first I was just going through the motions, she was being used to fill the Daphne shaped hole in my life but now she's just Fleur and she's important to me. My longing for Daphne has passed, I've stopped filtering it out and accepted she's gone. This vial might mean you're successful. You will certainly be lucky and we can hope that luck will make up for whatever you're missing otherwise. If you take that it's a five year detox before you can take any more so be careful. Now I'm also going to tell Fleur the truth about me and where I come from, she's stuck with you through this and I hope she'll stick with me."

"Its about time." I interjected as I became uncomfortable with the influx of emotions. I'd longed for a family for so long but now I had one I didn't know what to do or how to feel. Harry smirked at that.

"It probably is. Now I'd wish you luck but I've bottled it and given it to you so it seems obsolete." He replied. "Fleur, she's leaving in a moment." Harry called out.

Fleur reappeared with tears in her eyes.

"Be brave, be strong and don't be afraid to ask for 'elp." She told me as she hugged me tightly.

I started to cry too as I stepped back. I took a deep breath to compose myself and picked up my shrunken trunk and activated the portkey. The world span and my stomach lurched. With a crash I found myself sprawled on the floor of the Headmaster's office.

"This is what we trust with the fate of our world?" Sneered Snape from a shadowed section of the office. If he wasn't so important I would have cursed him by now I thought as I picked myself up and made my way a chair opposite Dumbledore's desk.

"A few last details of the plan that you have created." Said Dumbledore trying to move on from Snape's less than helpful comment. "I shall be leaving the castle in a few days for an alchemy conference in Geneva. This provides you with a window of opportunity to escape me and learn of the prophecy. You will use your broom to fly to the Ministry in London. Professor Snape will then go to Tom and inform him of your escape and intent. He has told Tom that we have argued about me informing you of the contents. Professor Snape will then make to return to Hogwarts so as not to make people suspicious. In reality he will be doing his best to kill Nagini. When he is successful he will send a patronus to the Ministry and you will be free to vanquish Tom. Until that time we must stall. We do not know what would happen if his last horcrux is destroyed whilst he is a wraith. To be sure we must wait until Severus has completed his task."

A few more details were worked out but I was soon surrounded by other students as life returned to the castle. Ron and the Weasleys were subdued at the feast but the way Ron was glaring at Umbridge had me worried. If he was looking for someone to blame, someone to lash out at then Umbridge was an obvious target and I could do little to help him. I had soaked up a lot of her attention in class but if Ron was looking for a fight then Umbridge could hurt him. Hermione seemed concerned with their behaviour but had a book by her side. It was likely she was tired of arguments and had retreated to her studies.

The next few days progressed quietly. My performance in class dropped as I was too distracted to focus properly. I couldn't bring myself to care. A few days into term Dumbledore made the announcement to the school I was both waiting for and dreading. He would be leaving the castle for the next few days for a conference. Umbridge's eyes had lit up with glee but I didn't care, she was a small menace compared to Tom. I knew Dumbledore would really be leaving the castle. He would be going to Grimmauld place to organise the Order. Tonks would be taking his place at the conference. She was well trained in imitating people's mannerisms. If Tom had spies looking for Dumbledore then they would get the confirmation they were after. Tonks probably wasn't happy with her role. She was an auror, she would want to fight but it would have been made clear to her what her role was and its importance. She had been a Hufflepuff, she understood duty.

That night as I gripped my firebolt I did a quick check; my pockets were full of the goodies Harry and Fleur had helped me craft. I'd made a bold declaration in the common room that enough was enough before I left the room. Being Hogwarts the whole castle would soon learn of what I had said meaning if Malfoy or any of the other junior Death Eaters had ways of contacting their fathers then there would be supporting evidence to Snape's claim. I would have been seen at some point while I was carrying my broomstick stacking evidence. Tom would come. I was sure of it.


	3. Ministry

I flew towards Hogsmeade, Tom could think I was flying to the Ministry but the moment I reached the edge of Hogwarts' anti-apparition jinx I disapparated. Reappearing outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The miserable old house of the Blacks. Inside waited Dumbledore and those of the Order who were ready to fight. I made my way into the gloomy house, passing by the portrait of Sirius' mother as quietly as I could, I reached the kitchen without waking the horrific picture.

"Rose." Dumbledore greeted me but his tone was serious, lacking the joy and enthusiasm one normally associated with Dumbledore. I couldn't bring myself to speak so I merely nodded. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin and several others were seated with grim faces. They had been briefed and it was likely they disapproved of the role of a young girl in it. Initially we had planned on having Dumbledore come with me polyjuiced but it had been decided he would come behind. His role would be to lock down the ministry and trap both sides within. This would be decided tonight. Kinglsey took me to the Ministry itself. The large man's quiet yet strong presence eased my nerves. We'd worked together this year and I trusted him and his skills.

The Ministry was empty when I entered. Still I put on my cloak, the relevant people knew I was here but that didn't mean I actually wanted them to find me. Following the directions, I'd been given I headed towards the elevators and took them to the deepest levels of the Ministry. Kinglsey and the Order would be in position, monitoring the Ministry, they would be ready. I carried with me a small device Dumbledore handed me, if the Death Eaters were here already, lying in wait I should use the device to summon the Order.

The deepest levels were deathly quiet, no security nor white masks and black robes. The Department of Mysteries awaited me. I found myself in a circular room, Dumbledore had described this to me. It was a security system. If I reached out with my magic and told the room what I sought it would direct me but record my presence. I didn't want to be on record so I set about opening each door in turn until I found one that seemed to lead to a hall so large the Retreat could have been swallowed by its depths. This was the Hall of Prophecy, here amongst the seemingly endless shelves was a glass orb recording the worlds of Sybil Trelawney, words that had dictate my life.

I paused, this was it. From now there was no going back. I shrugged off my cloak and took out the small vial of liquid luck. I focused as I took it, I focused on vanquishing Voldemort. I had been warned unless I was clear about the nature of my endeavour the potion might have unexpected consequences, for example if I had wanted for tonight to go off without casualties then I might have luckily enough stumbled on a reason to abort the plan and therefore prevent any conflict. I drained the vial and suddenly felt slightly giddy, I clamped down, filtering best I could to stay in control, to stay focused. Looking out upon the rows of shelves I decided that I'd have to pick a good place to start. I walked along the side of the hall until I reached a point that seemed as good as any, row ninety seven had a good ring to it.

"Rose wait!" I groaned and turned feeling cold and nervous. Ron and Neville were running towards me.

"What are you two doing here?" I hissed angrily, didn't they understand that I was here to keep them safe, so they didn't have to fight like I would have to.

"We heard what you said. I realised what you meant, this is about my Dad, he was guarding here when he died." Ron explained.

"And I wouldn't let him go alone, not if You-Know-Who might be coming." Neville added.

"But how?" I spluttered as I tried to see a way to get them to leave while they could.

"You remember when McGonagall took me to get a new wand?" Neville replied. "She showed me where her floo powder was, the twins had done something to get her out of her office so we snuck in and came to help you."

"Hermione is trying to get the Order." Ron offered.

I couldn't keep in my groan. They were only going to get in the way. They were loyal and brave, they wouldn't leave me now. They should have known that I was far from a damsel in destress but their honour demanded we stick together now.

"Whatever." I relented. "Let's go, be careful."

Row ninety seven still felt good for some reason, it was about halfway down when Neville called out.

"This one has your name on it Rose."

I moved over to where he was standing by the towering shelves. There it was, a little, innocent orb. I looked around for something I could transfigure into a copy. There was no reason to carry the real thing around when I could have a fake. I picked the orb up, weighing it in my palm as I consider the best way to make a fake. I was torn from my musing by a short gasp from Ron. I span and realised we had been surrounded. I reached into my pocket and activated the device, the Order would come.

"Hello there Potter, why don't you hand me the prophecy." Instructed a masked face. The voice was female and haunting. "Is that a Longbottom I see." She added, stepping towards the three of them.

"Bellatrix, enough." Came Lucius Malfoy's voice from behind another mask. I could feel Neville tense beside me. He would show no fear, he would fight if I allowed it and he would die.

"I don't think I want to hand this over." I stated supressing my fears as I tried to work out how to get out of this.

"Oh Potter you Rotter, why not?" Bellatrix sang like and insane and ruthless version of Peeves.

"You see, Bella, you don't mind if I call you Bella do you? You see if I hand this over, what keeps you from killing me and my friends?" I spat.

"Potter, you deny our master. You're already dead." Bellatrix replied.

"Enough. Potter hand over the Prophecy and we will let your friends go." Malfoy offered.

"Bella, can I trust him?" I asked the insane witch. "He is a weak-minded fool isn't he. I was told that only the weak fall under the imperius."

"He is weak." Bellatrix confirmed.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Hissed Neville through gritted teeth, his knuckles going white as they clenched around his wand.

"Enough of this." Came a new voice as another masked man stalked forwards.

"Oh Ruddy, why must you always ruin my fun?" Moaned Bellatrix as I desperately tried to calculate how long it had been since I called for the Order. This would have been so much easier to escape if I was alone.

"Get the Prophecy and lets get out of here." The man who I now assumed was Rodulphus LeStrange ordered.

"There's a problem here. You see this label, it has my name on it meaning this is mine." I tried to explain. Moving towards Neville and Ron and discreetly pulling out my wand.

"It belongs to the Dark Lord." Bellatrix insisted snapping her wand towards me.

"No, we cannot risk breaking it." Malfoy snapped snatching Bellatrix's wrist. This was my best moment Malfoy and Bellatrix were distracted. LeStrange was glaring at the two of them.

"Get ready to run." I instructed under my breath hoping that Neville and Ron had heard. I flicked my wand up and launched a concussive curse. The noise was deafening and prophecy orbs exploded all around us. The Death Eaters staggered and I grabbed Neville's wrist and dragged him away as I blasted the floor in front of two Death Eaters blocking our path as they tried to stop the ringing in their ears. Ron was following us best he could as we ran, we found another door way and I quickly set up a tripwire before rushing on. They would have recovered by now and be in pursuit.

"The Order should be on their way, we have to try and split them up and survive until they get here." I informed the other two as we ducked into another room. Sprinting through that I shot a finite at the lighting plunging the room into Darkness before casting sticking charms all over the floor. Easy to counter but they would succeed in slowing down anyone chasing up. I didn't want anything more dangerous or permanent since the Order should be in pursuit of us too.

A flash of light shot over our shoulders and exploded against the wall in front of us as a lone Death Eater caught us as we dived through a corridor.

"Got you now you little pests." Jeered the Death Eater.

I rounded on him raising my wand. There were three of us, I was confident he would be beaten before the others caught up with him. He snapped off a dark curse that would have left us with traumatic visions but it was a standard dark curse and I'd countered it before it made it halfway to us. I'd already retaliated with a confundus charm as the Death Eater paused and watched his curse fizzle out. My charm hit him and he staggered slightly before turning slightly to look around. I'd followed up with a full body bind before he'd worked out he was facing the wrong direction for no apparent reason. Neville had fired a stunner at him while Ron had added his own disarming charm. The Death Eater had been blasted away by the force of the spells and his wand was now flying towards Ron's outstretched hand. I would have preferred to do something else but we had been stationary too long already.

We soon found ourselves in a wide, open chamber. It was an astronomer's dream as models of planets were floating around. The room was dark but a model of the sun was glowing in the centre.

"Oh Potter." Called out the sing song voice of Bellatrix LeStrange. Neville snapped around pointing his wand in the direction of the noise. Ron reacted thinking Neville had seen something also rounding and looking around. Sensing that the other two were spoiling for a fight I sighed. They would rather fight than run right now. Neville wanted to hurt the LeStranges and Ron just wanted to fight something after the death of his father.

I took a moment to focus my mind, to prepare myself. The other two wanted to make a stand so now was the last chance to rig the battlefield. My wand flicked, circled and slashed as I tried to bend the room to my will. I couldn't work out what the floor was made off nor the objects that made up the planets, therefore I couldn't gouge out a hole in the floor nor could I transfigure things. I did however have a few more goodies in my bag. I brought out the shrunken models of the stone soldiers Harry had transfigured. I hadn't transfigured them so they didn't resonate perfectly with my magic but Harry was almost me and our magic was so similar that I could animate his creations with no resistance. The enchantments he had placed on them in our practice spar had only been added to by Fleur in preparation for this. I would have to focus on controlling them but we now had numbers as I hit them with an engorgement charm and raised them to the size of men. It was like we had our own version of Hogwarts' suits of armour. Neville and Ron watched in in silent awe as within a minute I had given us a chance.

"Protect me, I'll need to focus for this." I warned them as we heard Bellatrix call out again, closer this time.

"The Order will be here soon." Ron reminded us in an attempt to raise the mood but they seemed to finally understand what they had waded into. All of the words Harry had told me about picking my fights had gone out the window the moment the other Gryffindors had arrived. Now I just had to do my best to get us out of here. The sound of feet getting closer caused us to go quite as I focused my will and like a conductor I formed the phalanx of spearman in front of me, either side of me with resolute faces Neville and Ron levelled their wands in the direction of the footfalls.

"Potter?" Came the grisly voice of Moody.

"Over here." I returned as the Order rushed into the room. Nods were exchanged as serious expressions were on all round.

"No sign of the big guy yet." Kingsley informed me in his quiet voice full of inner strength. The Order arranged themselves around us. "Found some stragglers, have you?" He joked but I could tell it worried him.

"They came to help me apparently." I responded in a dry tone giving away exactly what I thought about their attempts.

"We don't have time for that, they're in the next room. They're cautious, whatever you've done you've got'em worried Potter." Moody interjected, his gruff tones snapping us back to attention as his magical eye scanned the area.

"Oh Potter." Called out Bellatrix's haunting voice. As she appeared. "You've brought friends."

"Give us the prophecy Potter and you and your friends may walk out of here alive."

My response was to march the soldiers forwards. Moody had beaten me to the punch and had sent a hail of curses at the Death Eaters on the edges forcing the group together. Bellatrix was just as fast as she retaliated. I had to trust Kingsley to protect me as I herded the spearman towards the Death Eaters. If the call hadn't already gone out to bring Voldemort it should now.

The Death Eaters nearest Harry's creations soon learnt of the effort that had gone into them as their spells splashed ineffectually against them. The screams of pain when the spears were thrust forwards almost made me hesitate but I supressed it as strongly as I could. Guilt and feelings could wait. A shield flashed in front of me as Kingsley kept me safe from a spell to liquefy my organs. While the Death Eaters retreated from my creations I took a moment to glance around. A couple of the Order I didn't know had gone down already but Moody had bested a few of the Death Eaters and my spearman had injured more, a few of which weren't getting back up.

"Potter, these are annoying." Declared Bellatrix her voice somehow making it through the haze of the battle before I saw something that chilled me to the bone and yet it had the opposite effect on everything else. Despite the confined space the insane witch had unleashed fiendfyre on Harry's creations. They were tough but they couldn't resist the cursed flames.

"Run." Ordered Moody as he spotted the flames. Nobody hesitated. Fiendfyre was unpredictable and dangerous. Bellatrix would likely kill them all if they stayed and she wouldn't care if she killed a few of her own. I had a momentary flash of guilt as I remembered those that had fallen in the Space room. If they weren't dead before they were now.

Somehow the chaos we'd all started to get separated. Unsure what to do I dove through a door in confusion and found myself in the circular room of doors. I fled quickly into the Ministry itself thinking I could get under my cloak and hide ready for Tom's arrival.

"Oh Potter, where are you going now?" Came that annoying sing song voice, at least she gave me a warning. I wheeled around and launched a blasting curse at her, she countered in mid-flight and if fizzled out. "That's not very nice. Now the Dark Lord wants to kill you but he never said I couldn't play with you first, you want to play a game Potter?."

"I'd offer to play some gobstones but its clear you've lost your marbles." I quipped desperately hoping that someone would come. Bellatrix was one of the most feared duellists of the last war.

"How precious." Bellatrix commented. She followed the comment up with a blue spell which I swatted away and returned fire with a confudus. Bellatrix just sent more curses at me and broke my focus making the confundus fail as I desperately raised a shield.

"Crucio." She snarled. There was nothing nearby to intercept the curse, no counter nor shield could stop it I closed my eyes and braced for the inevitable pain but it never came.

"Goodnight Bella. Rest now, be at peace." Whispered a familiar voice. I opened my eyes and looked up Harry was holding Bellatrix upright, as he whispered in her ear. He let her go and she slumped to the ground revealing that cruel looking curved knife of his. He absently span it around using the ring where the pommel should be that protected his index finger. The claw like blade had gone up and under Bellatrix's ribcage, the tip tearing into her cold heart. There was no coming back for her.

"Harry, I thought you didn't want to get involved?" I asked. I had rarely been so relieved, if he was here and so was Dumbledore then we stood a good chance.

"I didn't particularly want to be. Fleur however decided that regardless of fate and destiny and all that you could do with some help. I find it hard to say no to that girl."

"Fleur is here?"

"I wanted her to stay away. Turns out she has a bit more Veela in her than she lets on. Jeevesy is probably still trying to put out the fires." Provided Harry. "She's around here somewhere under my cloak keeping us safe."

"Why didn't you just curse Bellatrix?" I asked as together we began to head to the lift up to the atrium.

"She would have had a chance. I was silenced as I approached, unless she had a reason to look around she was dead. If I cursed her verbally then we'd duel and there is a chance she wins, even non-verbally she might have felt the magic." Harry explained as we entered the lift. Fleur appeared as she threw off the cloak and gave me a quick hug. I could see tears in her eyes. That was probably the first time she'd seen someone die I realised, she also lacked the expertise in supressing her emotions that Harry and I had developed. I returned the hug, more of a slight squeeze really and gave a small smile.

"Is Tom here yet?" I asked.

"I don't know, I'd think he's probably waiting up there." Harry replied grimly. "Under your cloak." He ordered. Not wanting to argue I slipped under the silvery fabric. With a ping the gates opened and the atrium appeared. We strode out warily we me still invisible. There was no sign of Tom nor Dumbledore. I was also very aware that there had been no patronus from Snape. So much of our plan relied on him. There was a chance Tom could be restrained but it would be easier to simply kill him.

Two Death Eaters rounded a corner and marched towards us. Quickly, almost a blur Harry flicked his wand out and with two twists and two soft 'pew' noises the Death Eaters fell like puppets with their string cut, never to rise again. Fleur flinched at the easy way Harry killed but she was strong and understood that they were not good men.

A phoenix patronus flew to me. Opening its beak Dumbledore's voice came out.

"Tom has come, I am focused on containing him. Good luck." With that the patronus faded. A slight giddiness rushed through me.

"Let's go over there." I suggested quietly as the liquid luck fed me an idea. Somehow, they were able to work out where 'there' was despite me being invisible.

We walked toward the Fountain of Magical Brethren. Smoke came in swirling round before coalescing in the form of Tom Riddle and two other Death Eaters suspending an unconscious redhead between them.

"Rose Potter, I know you're out there." Tom called before he spotted Harry and Fleur. "And who might you be?"

Harry stepped in front of Fleur, I could see she was scared but too proud to hide behind her man she stepped beside Harry.

"Good evening Tom." Harry spoke with quiet intensity. It was far more serious that I had ever heard him before.

"You stand before Lord Voldemort and you dare mention that name." Voldemort hissed. I moved to the side, trying to get a look at the condition Ron was in. I didn't want to reveal my position either.

"I dare remind you of who you are." Harry snarled and I could tell he truly hated Voldemort. "You who created a new identity because you're so ashamed of who you are. You disgust me."

"Crucio." Voldemort intoned, his wand pointed at Fleur. Harry was a blur as he summoned her to him before casting at Voldemort's Death Eaters. The first took at piercing hex through an eye hole in his mask and was dead before he hit the ground. The second had enough time to let Ron go and raise a shield which absorbed Harry's second hex.

"You have potential, throw down your wand. Throw aside the half-breed and bow before me and I shall show you the path to true greatness." Voldemort offered.

"Fleur would you take offense at that?" Harry asked.

"Oui." She replied airily.

"Sorry Tom but the lady has spoken." Harry replied.

"Then you shall die." Voldemort snarled.

"I'm not the one scared of dying Tom. Will we duel like men, will you bow, didn't your father ever teach you duelling etiquette?" Harry pushed.

"Crucio." Was Tom's perhaps predictable response.

I watched, the felix telling me not to intervene, my brain telling me that I shouldn't give away my position but my heart was telling me to get in the fight. I had to wait for news from Snape.

Fleur was now duelling the Death Eater Harry hadn't killed while Harry held Tom at bay. I think the Death Eater was pushing Fleur back, she was shielding more and more and finding less opportunities to retaliate. My hand was tightly wrapped around my wand as I was ready to jump in. Just when I was getting really worried she cancelled the enchantments on her clothes and the Death Eater stopped at stared at her as if suddenly noticing her allowing her to hit the Death Eater with a jet of flames. He screamed but Fleur followed it up with piercing hex through his chest before slumping to her knees in shock.

"Crucio." Roared Voldemort hitting Fleur, Harry was caught by surprise at the change of targets and could do nothing to stop Fleur's scream of pain.

"No!" Harry roared, his green eyes dancing with power as his anger fuelled banisher slammed into Voldemort tossing him to the side while Harry ran to Fleur who seemed to be shaking on the floor.

Something told me now was a good time to get into position to curse Voldemort so I started to eek round a bit more to get a clear shot.

"This ends now." Came Voldemort's magically magnified voice. "Rosaline Potter, I have your friend. If you value his life give yourself and the prophecy to me now." Tom had Ron kneeling before him Tom's pale yew wand pressed up against Ron's neck. My blood went cold. Harry was cradling Fleur as she sobbed into his shoulder but his eyes were on Tom and they were as cold as emeralds. I hesitated unsure what to do. The Felix was telling me I could do this I just had to be patient a moment longer but I wanted to save Ron. The prophecy orb felt like an anvil in my pocket as it weighed on my conscience.

Before I had a chance to make a decision a patronus of a doe appeared.

"It is done." Was the simple message in Snape's dry drawl.

"Traitor!" Screamed Voldemort seemingly aware of what was happening. In his anger, before I could do anything he tore his wand across Ron's neck and there were two separate thumps as his body hit the ground. I felt the urge to scream but I had to suppress it everything was screaming at me to curse him.

Voldemort tried to spin on the spot but staggered slightly as he hit whatever containment Dumbledore had put in place.

"You." He snarled at Harry, raising his wand. The sheer hatred he was oozing towards Harry and Fleur told me he was focused on them enough I could act. "Tell me what that message meant, what is keeping me here."

"Pew." A soft twist and a lot of intent and I became a murderer. I'd wanted it. After knowing what that monster did to my parents, after watching what happened to Ron I can honestly say I fuelled that dark curse with vengeance, I wanted him dead, I wanted him to have an aneurism and as I softly spoke that simple sound and gave a twist of my wrist I sent a deadly curse at Tom Marvolo Riddle. I watched with morbid fascination as he fell, first to his knees, then onto his face. It was almost anti-climactic. There were no fireworks, no cheers, just the soft noise of Fleur sobbing. I sank to my knees as I lost the will to supress my emotions and I cried. I don't know why, I didn't care. Was it tears of joy at stopping the Dark Lord, was it tears for Ron and anyone else who died tonight, it might even have been me crying at me becoming a killer. Quirrell in my first year didn't count, it was self-defence, I wasn't even awake when he perished. I might have killed some Death Eaters down in the Department of Mysteries but I never took the time to check. This was the first time I truly had killed someone because I had wanted them dead with my whole soul.

"Rose, Rose." A voice cut through my thoughts as I became aware of someone shaking my shoulder.

"Yes?" I asked, looking up at Harry, locking green eyes with green eyes.

"I'm not going to say well done, but you did what you had to do. Don't forget that. Now I want to take Fleur home and get her some rest and pain relief." Harry told me as Fleur lent into him. She tried to smile at me but neither of us were really feeling capable right now. He gave a final squeeze of support to my shoulder before making his way past. "Albus." I heard him say in a respectful tone.

"Mr Potter." Came the reply. "I have removed the travel restrictions." Dumbledore informed him and then there was a loud crack which I assumed was Harry disapparating away. "Rose my dear, though it does not feel like it now, today has been a success."

"Ron is dead." I stated pointlessly. The corpses on clear display were evidence enough to make my statement obsolete but I felt the need to say it. To accept it.

"I do not know why he is here and I do think the Weasley family has suffered enough without this tragedy but I do believe if you were to speak to him on his next great adventure he would tell you that trading his life for Tom's would be worth it to him. Personally, I don't think any cost of life is acceptable but alas all things come with a price."

"Stop right there, you're all under arrest." Came a loud voice. I looked up from the floor, there was crowd of people gathered around, front and centre was Cornelius Fudge, the bungling fool surrounded by aurors.

"Cornelius surely you do not deny even now what has occurred?" Dumbledore asked confused.

"This has gone on enough. I have had it with your attempts to seize power from me." Fudge declared. "Auror Dawlish, arrest them."

"John, you are a good auror, do not do this. Do not deny the evidence in front of you." Dumbledore tried.

"I see two people standing over two corpses. That's suspicious enough to warrant an integration if nothing else." Replied the person I assumed to be this Auror Dawlish.

"I am sure that if one is prepared to listen to the answers then everything will be cleared up in no time, however right now we have an underage witch who has witnessed some horrible things. She needs to go to bed and we shall talk in the morning." Dumbledore announced.

"No." Declared Fudge doing what I considered the equivalent of throwing a tantrum. "I have you now Dumbledore. You killed these people and set this scene up. I can see through your plan. That body has been transfigured to look like You-Know-Who. You were going to have the Prophet find you and Potter here over the body and pretend that not only had he come back but now you have defeated him. Enough is enough I say. You will not get away with it this time."

"Cornelius." Roared Dumbledore and I could feel the oppressive power rolling off Dumbledore in waves. "I have never sought power nor have I resisted your petty attempts to seize more. This ends now. You must see sense."

Confused why the Minister was being such an arse I looked at his eyes and forced my magic to make a connection. Fear, overwhelming fear was all I could sense. The man was paranoid and I would suggest damaged. He seemed incapable of rational thought, perhaps Malfoy had done a number on him to make him easier to control. Dumbledore handed me the arm of the wizard from the Fountain of Magical Brethren that had been blasted off in the fight between Harry and Voldemort. I took it confused until I heard him whisper. "Portus." I felt a pull just behind my navel and when the spinning stopped I was in the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts. Too tired to do anything else I tossed aside the arm and not wanting to face Hermione or anyone else awake in Gryffindor I transfigured one of the cushy armchairs into a makeshift bed and called for Jeevesy to see if he could bring me some bedding. I was asleep before he returned to exhausted to think anymore.

"Miss Rose must be getting up now." I felt a small hand rocking me slightly as I slowly returned to the real world. I squinted slightly as the light shone through the big windows of Dumbledore's office. Sitting up I realised it was Jeevesy who had woken me.

"Jeevesy?" I questioned blearily.

"Miss Rose must be getting up. There is an announcement in the school there is and youse going to be missing it if Miss does not get up." Provided the elf. I nodded and accepted the clean uniform he handed me. With a snap of his fingers the bed I had been resting on untrasfigured and returned to being a chair. "Miss Fleur was hurt, Master Harry will be looking after her but says that Miss Rose should visit anytime she needs to."

With that the elf popped away. I sighed deeply and as I got dressed I took the time to refocus my mind. I felt hollow inside, there was no pride, no sense of achievement but there was guilt. I hadn't even tried to save Ron, I could have given Tom the prophecy and it might have all worked out. I filtered this out. I focused on the idea of there being a school wide announcement and slowly left the Headmaster's office and headed towards the Great Hall. I still didn't feel ready to meet other people, to have to answer their questions but I could feel all eyes were on me as I slipped into the Hall. The first thing I noticed was there was no Dumbledore, not that I had expected him to be there. He regularly waited by my bedside when I found myself under the care of Madam Pomfrey so I assumed if he returned to the castle he would have been in his office when I woke.

"Hem Hem." Umbridge's irritating simper came from the lectern that Dumbledore used to give the start of term notices. I sat at the end of the Gryffindor table trying to ignore the looks of the others. I didn't even dare look for Neville. I don't think I could face knowing if another friend had died. They hadn't needed to be there and that might have been the worst thing. They had tried to help and I had resented them for it and now Ron was dead and I was too frightened of my own guilt to learn if Neville was too.

"Last night, Professor Dumbledore was arrested." Announced Umbridge to gasps around the hall. "He was found surrounded by dead bodies, one of which he claimed belonged to You-Know-Who. Now as we all know, You-Know-Who has not returned and the Headmaster has been lying. The Headmaster has been arrested for the murder of several people found within the Ministry. No further details will be given until the investigation has been concluded but the Minister has appointed me to act as Headmistress of this school." I risked a quick glance over to the Slytherin table, several of them seemed to be clutching letters, and Malfoy looked broken. It seemed that the truth was doing the rounds within the families of the Death Eaters.

There were mutterings and whispers all day. I wanted to hide away, I couldn't bring myself to face Hermione so I skipped all of my classes and found myself wandering to the hospital wing. Maybe Madam Pomfrey's bluntness would be what I needed. There was only one occupant, Neville. He had an arm bandaged up and one of his legs was held in raised position but he was alive. I slipped into a chair at his bedside and had a quick glance over his injuries.

"Hey you." He greeted me catching me by surprise. I thought he'd been asleep.

"Hey." I said quietly.

"I got a LeStrange." Neville commented.

"Oh." I replied unsure exactly how I was meant to respond.

"I stuck with Professor Moody and Professor Lupin after that fire. We ran into Travers, Yaxley and Rodolphus LeStrange. I got LeStrange by surprise with a banisher, he hit the wall with a crunch and never got up." Neville continued.

"How do you feel?" I asked seeing the similarities in our situations. We'd both got revenge against those that had hurt our parents but I wanted to know if he felt as hollow as I did.

"I hurt." Neville replied with a self-depreciating smile. "Honestly though, I don't know. What am I meant to feel?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "How'd you get here?"

"Professor Lupin got me out. We stuck down in the Department for a while fighting a few more but I got caught when one of the Death Eaters cast this spell that caused everything in the room to explode. I was standing too close to something and, well." Said Neville with a gesture to his injuries. "After that, I just remember a ringing in my ears before a portkey. Then I got brought here. Is it true Dumbledore got arrested?"

I was about to reply when Daphne Greengrass burst into the hospital wing.

"Good, you're here. I've been looking all over for you. Umbridge wants us in her office now."

"I'll see you later." I told Neville trying to give him a smile before leaving with Daphne and headed towards Umbridge's office. "Do you know what she wants us for?" I asked. Daphne gave me a look as if I was an idiot and pulled me into an empty class room.

"Was that a serious question?" She demanded, her eye seemed to run over me taking in how tired I was. "You're a mess Potter." She muttered under her breath.

"I don't know what she wants now." I responded. I was so tired I sounded whiney, even to myself.

"So you weren't involved in killing a Dark Lord with Dumbledore last night? You weren't involved in the deaths of several Death Eaters, some of whom were close friends of the minister?" Daphne asked and I winced.

"Okay, maybe I can see why she wants to talk to me." I conceded feeling extremely stupid.

"Don't forget that she thinks you're on her side, you told her that Dumbledore was forcing you into this stuff. We're her spies in the Defence club remember." I nodded and took a deep breath to pull myself together. I'd have to be ready, I wasn't sure if there was even a plan. Last night I had realised Fudge was paranoid and unwilling to accept the truth. I wasn't sure what his aims were but I knew he would be looking to have Dumbledore locked up. A small dark little bit of me asked if I cared, Tom was dead. Most of me however saw this as unacceptable.

Umbridge's smug, toad-like face was not a welcome sight today. I just wanted to curl up and work out my place in this post-Voldemort world but now I had to put down my wand and sharpen my tongue. Daphne and I seemed to be honoured guests judging by how she was plying us with tea and smiles.

"My favourite two girls." Umbridge simpered. "As I am sure you are aware, the Minister has made me the Headmaster of this school. Now I am honoured by this request but it does give me several duties within this school, to ease my load I was hoping to create a group of loyal students who will go above and beyond the prefects to bring Hogwarts up to the Ministry's expectations. Now I have selected the students but I need leaders. I was going to offer the role to young Mr Malfoy but unfortunately his father was killed last night in Dumbledore's coup and I did not want to burden him with more." Umbridge's voice didn't sound particularly sympathetic I noted.

"You honour us Madam Umbridge." Daphne replied.

"I do." She confirmed pushing forwards to small silver badges. "We shall speak later about your duties. Miss Potter, Madam Bones the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement wishes to speak to you. I have told her of your true loyalties but she still wishes to speak to you."

I nodded unwilling to speak. Daphne reached forwards and took her badge and glanced at me causing me to reach forwards and take mine. It wasn't entirely sure what the image was meant to be but I didn't care as I pinned it to my robes.

Daphne got up and with a respectful nod left the room. Umbridge escorted me to her floo and was giving me advice for dealing with Madam Bones but I wasn't listening. I was still slightly dazed. The Floo ride was as rough as ever and I spilled onto the floor.

"Wotcher Rose." I was greeted by Tonks.

"You're back?" I asked taking a moment to gaze around the atrium. Huge sections of it were cordoned off and gruff looking wizards stood guard around.

"I got back last night, the moment the Order was summoned I headed back, there was no point me being out there. Anyway, I'm here to escort you to Bones." Tonks answered.

"How's Dumbledore?" I enquired quietly as we headed towards the elevators.

"He's Dumbledore. He's not really fazed by this." Tonks replied.

"What's Bones like?"

"Fair." Tonks responded. "A true Puff, she understands duty and will do everything she can for her people. Be fair and honest with her and she'll be fair and honest with you. She used to be an auror before she got moved to a desk job so she knows what it's like to be in the field."

By this point we'd reached the elevator. We didn't talk anymore, we couldn't give away the fact we knew each other. Tonks guided me through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to a large office, she gave me a supportive smile and a slight shove into the room.

At the desk was Amelia Bones, a serious looking witch that oozed authority but the effect was ruined when I found myself staring at her monocle. Who uses a monocle? Why not glasses, surely it had to be charmed like Moody's eye.

"Sit Potter." Madam Bones instructed.

I moved quickly to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. She stared at me intently but I couldn't feel any legilimency from her. I tentatively reached out to her mind. There was a minor amount of protection, not enough to detect my feather light touch on her mind but enough that I couldn't get much from her and she'd detect me if I pushed. It didn't seem like real occlumency but Harry had warned me that some people who were described as bloody stubborn were often described as single minded which had the effect of giving them a very mild version of Occlumency.

"I have been told my Madam Umbridge that you're loyal to the Ministry and that you were forced into everything by Dumbledore." Madam Bones ventured.

It was likely true. It was a statement of fact, whether or not I was loyal to the ministry was another question altogether but it was probably true Umbridge had told Bones I was, and so I said nothing waiting for the inevitable questions. Madam Bones scoffed slightly.

"I have Albus bloody Dumbledore downstairs humming away in my holding cells. The former holder of a number of important positions and I am told he has a conspiracy to overthrow the Ministry, thoughts?"

"I was always told to look for the cock up before the conspiracy." I responding remembering some of the things Harry had tried to drill into me that meant I wouldn't end up as paranoid as Moody yet still be cautious.

"So you think this is a huge cock up, you know I might agree with that statement were it not for all of the bodies found last night. I guess that counts as a cock up but something was planned." Bones responded as she played with her monocle.

I kept quiet, I hadn't been given a question to respond to. I had already noted that this was Bones' office not an integration room meaning I wasn't in trouble.

"Fudge said you were here last night. Were you?" Came the direct question.

"I was." I replied neutrally. I was treating this like I was under veritaserum and filtering all my thoughts to ensure my responses were good enough.

"Then tell me why I have the bodies of several high-profile wizards dressed in Death Eater garb in the mortuary alongside a couple from Azakaban break outs also in Death Eater regalia. I have a body that is supposed to be You-Know-Who and I also have a couple of civilians who seemed to have been cursed within the Department of Mysteries and even those secretive buggers are complaining that they have curse damage everywhere and one of their rooms was torched with fiendfyre."

"A cock-up?" I tried. Bones grunted and shook her head.

"Try again Potter."

"Well I would assume that those in the Death Eater outfits were also marked." I ventured.

"That's not an incorrect assumption." Bones ground out.

"Did you catch any of them alive?" I asked.

"I'm asking the questions." Bones retorted and yet I could swear I saw a glimmer of respect in her eyes despite the sense of frustration she was making no effort to hide.

"I think their spouses might have a good idea of why they felt the need to have a Death Eater reunion within the Ministry last night." I offered.

"Potter, if I am honest and blunt with you will you do me the same?" Bones questioned.

I took a moment to consider the offer before nodding.

"Good. Now personally I can't see a reason Albus Dumbledore would have told us You-Know-Who was back if he wasn't. Now I have a bunch of known Death Eaters and ones who were suspected of buying their freedom caught dressed as Death Eaters and destruction in their wake. I also have a body that is supposedly You-Know-Who. Have you ever heard of something called Occam's razor."

I shook my head. I might know it by another name but that one wasn't doing it for me.

"It suggests that the simplest answer is often the correct one. Now being in Law Enforcement I'm aware that sometimes criminals try to be clever, they frame others and convolute their plans but in this case if we apply Occam's razor then You-Know-Who came back. Last night he and his Death Eaters engaged in battle within the Ministry with Dumbledore's secret group from the last war. You fit in somehow too but care to tell me how close I am?" Bones asked.

"I was here first. Then the Death Eaters, then Dumbledore's club then Voldemort with Dumbledore showing up at the very end." I supplied.

"So why were you here?" Bones pressed.

"In the Department of Mysteries, there is, or at least was a hall dedicated to Prophecies. In there one had my name on it. I wanted it."

Bones reached under her desk and from a draw produced a bottle of firewhiskey. It probably wasn't the most professional thing but I suspected in her job dealing with fools and the deaths of her officers that the bottle came out at times of stress. I quickly conjured a glass as Bones poured herself one. Seeing my conjuration, she raised an eyebrow but I felt I needed it more than her after the last twenty-four hours I'd had. She hesitated but with a slight snort of amusement poured a measure into my glass.

"What did the prophecy say?" Bones asked. I paused, Tom was dead now, it didn't matter who knew now.

"'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." I paraphrased from memory what Harry had told me months ago. I had rewatched the memory in my pensive at least once trying to analyse the wording for clues. Bones took a swig.

"Well that explains some things. Why were the Death Eaters there?" Bones asked.

"Voldemort knew about the prophecy, he knew the first line, up until the marking bit. He knew it and came after me as a child. He didn't know all of it but he wanted the prophecy in case it explained to him what happened in eighty-one. When he heard I was going after it he sent his minions." I answered.

"How did they learn you were going after it?" Bones questioned.

"I had someone tell them." I admitted.

"So was this a trap?"

I nodded and she took another shot of firewhiskey.

"I'd tell you that challenging You-Know-Who was a dumb idea but it seemed to have worked out so I shall hold my tongue. Now, I believe you. The problem is the Minister doesn't really care about You-Know-Who, he cares about power and staying in office. All he really cares about is that several of his richer and more influential backers were killed last night. The fact that they were here causing damage dressed in paraphernalia that would have had my aurors slinging spells at them means nothing to him. In fact, he is pushing me to investigate them as murders." Bones explained and I couldn't help myself paling slightly so I took a swig from the firewhiskey to put some colour back in my cheeks.

"What are you going to do?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't know." Admitted Madam Bones sounding very tired all of a sudden. "The Minister isn't wrong; several people have died and I could treat it as a set of murders but is that justice? I would keep my job, so would the ministry and Dumbledore and his secret group would go down. You have done something and wormed your way into Umbridge's favour and while the woman is vile she does have the Minister's ear so either way you're fine"

"Sometimes we must choose between what is right and what is easy." I quoted.

"Yes, but who can ever work out what is right?" Bones sighed. "Remember I was a pupil under Dumbledore too and he never answers that bit."

I kept quiet. This was her job and I didn't want to risk offending someone who seemed, not friendly but as Tonks had said Bones was honest and fair. I wouldn't tell her how to do her job and hopefully soon she'd let me go and I could go back to avoiding Hermione I didn't know if anyone knew about Ron yet.

"There is of course the fact that a Hogwarts student was found dead in the atrium." Bones remarked and I checked my occlumency to be sure. It seemed she wasn't doing anything, just working through her list.

"Ron Weasley." I said in a very quiet voice.

"He was one of your best friends according to my niece and his father died only a few weeks ago." Madam Bones commented and I had no reply. "Who killed him?" She asked when I didn't say anything.

"Voldemort." I responded. I hesitated before adding more. "I don't know how he got hold of him but some of the Death Eaters had him when they appeared in the Atrium after I left the Department of Mysteries. He'd come to help me, him and Neville Longbottom, I didn't want them here but they thought I needed them." I struggled to keep the tears from my eyes by the end.

"I see. Well unfortunately as You-Know-Who is officially dead he cannot have killed Ronald Weasley." Madam Bones held up a hand to stop me from interjecting. "Now, You-know-who is dead so some might say justice has been served. Either way it is another thing that the Minister will try to blame on Dumbledore."

"Why can't we just get rid of the Minister?" I asked.

"The only way would be a vote of no confidence." Madam Bones replied. "They can only be called in the Wizengamot which isn't due to meet for nearly a month. With Fudge's supporters dead or in hiding then he will be in a weak position. I suspect that when news of Dumbledore's arrest spreads that Fudge will be further weakened. Dumbledore is so high profile that the trial would have to be in front of the whole Wizengamot so at least Dumbledore will still be around until then. The main issue is we'd need a clear successor."

"What about you?" I asked. Bones scoffed.

"I'd only take the job if I felt I needed to. I can lead in a fight. I'm not so great at dealing with fools who want to tweak the thickness of cauldron bottoms." The distain oozing from her was easy to detect.

"But someone will want the job?" I pushed.

"Oh plenty will, that's not the issue. The problem is that without a clear candidate the votes will be scattered and that might not be enough to oust Fudge." Bones explained.

"It sounds like you need to." I suggested.

"No, if You-Know-Who was still alive and his Death Eaters were attacking then I would be willing step up and lead the defence of this country but I don't want the job." Bones grumbled.

I reached for the firewhiskey and poured another shot for each of us, much to Madam Bones' amusement.

"If we could get rid of Fudge in a month, what happens to this mess?" I asked.

"As the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement I could declare the Death Eaters enemies of the state as they were last time. I would then commend the unmarked who died and they'd get Orders of Merlin third class or some other useless posthumous trinket that their families can have and say what brave people they were." Bones answered after the slighted pause.

"Why can't you do that now?"

"Fudge doesn't want people like Malfoy called that. He'd simply replace me with someone who'd do whatever he says. Umbridge might even get the job."

I winced at that. She was bad enough in the school, how awful she'd be if she had all of the aurors and hitwizards under her control was terrifying.

"Can you wait a month?" I asked.

Bones drank her shot and sighed.

"Fudge will want answers but I can tell him I'm trying to build an airtight case, that I'll have everything ready for the Wizengamot meeting but Merlin alone knows what Fudge would do in that month."

A plan formed in my mind. One that might buy us some time.

"Umbridge informed the Minister that Dumbledore had preparations made in the even he was ousted from Hogwarts. It was keeping Umbridge from replacing him earlier. Dumbledore has only just been removed so it could be that those preparations haven't come out yet. Our esteemed Minister might be best in protective custody, for his own good. You know, just until Dumbledore is put away and is no threat?"

"And where exactly did Delores get this idea?" Asked Bones with a raised brow which told me she knew exactly where that plan had come from. I shrugged innocently. Another sigh from Bones. "You know, I can't believe I'm taking advice from a fifteen-year-old but I think that is the best plan for keeping Fudge from doing too much damage. Typically, when the Minister is indisposed I'd be the one to take the reins so I could keep too much of his current craziness from becoming policy. I'll have to get people working towards this vote of no confidence quietly. Dumbledore's people will be with me and when I tell him the plan I'm sure he'll tell me what to say to them." Bones mused.

I let her think it through. One month and it would all be over. Fudge's craziness would be done with and without Fudge I couldn't imagine Umbridge lasting long at Hogwarts. One month of Umbridge in charge of Hogwarts. I would have to be careful. Daphne and I were her go to minions now so perhaps we could marginalise her influence.

"You should get back to Hogwarts for now." Bones told me. "You will likely receive a summons to called as a witness in Dumbledore's trial. Hopefully the vote of no confidence happens before the trial starts and it all goes off without a hitch."

A sectary guided me back to the floo silently. I took in the aurors all looking grim faced and serious. I had to wonder what they all thought about this. Their loyalty belonged to the Ministry but to become an auror you had to want to fight the darkness. Death Eaters had been caught, some killed but from Bones' behaviour I assumed at least one or two were in custody. Dark wizards had broken into the Ministry and fought with some vigilantes, they had missed out. Their job had been done for them. Did they approve of someone doing what Fudge didn't allow them to or did they resent people for doing their jobs for them?

Immediately after arriving back in Umbridge's office I was sent to fetch Daphne. We had to have another meeting about our new roles within the school. I used the map to find her and avoid everyone else. Daphne was alone in the Library while most of the school was down for lunch, I was able to duck around Madam Pince and found Daphne surrounded by star charts. She didn't take much convincing to return to Umbridge, astronomy was rather dull compared to the political intrigue of what they were attempting to do.

"Ah, girls." Greeted Umbridge when they returned to her office. "Let's take some time to talk over your duties."

We nodded and smiled in all the right places as she basically called most of the prefects useless or traitors. Unless their parents were influential in the ministry it appeared that Umbridge saw all prefects as sleeper agents for Dumbledore. She explained how we had the same power over punishments and points as teachers did and so long as Umbridge signed off on it we could even hand out warnings to teachers for abuse of the points systems or poor teaching. We would, at a later date be given helpers, lesser members of Umbridge's personal squad but for now it would be just the two of us.

"Madam Umbridge, I have request." I offered suddenly thinking about how I could use this to have some more time on my own to process what I'd been through and what I would do with my life now.

"What is it dear?"

"Well, I was thinking that since we're basically going to be working for you in removing the remnants of Dumbledore's legacy. Some of Dumbledore's supporters might not like that, you've seen what my fellow Gryffindors can be like. I wanted to ask if I could have a room separate from them so I can have a clear separation between my duties and my friends."

"An excellent idea Miss Potter, what about you Miss Greengrass?" Umbridge replied happily enough.

"While Slytherin house is more supportive of you I agree with Rose that there should be a separation between us and the rest of the student body. It also could be seen as a reward for helping meaning it could be something people aspire to be over the coming years as you implement your reforms." Daphne offered.

"I shall have Mr Filch set up two rooms for you by this evening." Umbridge replied with a large smile. Daphne and I got out rather quickly after that. I could tell she was excited about having her own room but really, I just wanted to avoid people for a while. I was walking these walls that apart from a month or so in my fourth year I had walked with Ron. Ron was dead, never again would people complain about his table manners, never again would Hermione berate him for his lack of tact or unwillingness to do his homework any time but the night before it was due. Never again would he get jealous over anything, nor would he ever cheer on his beloved Chudley Cannons. I needed time to purge these thoughts. I could filter out the thoughts, supress the emotions and focus on other things but if I didn't let myself feel then I would never be able to work through the pain and would forever live in its shadow.

On the top of the Astronomy tower, all alone I broke down. I knew I felt guilt. I knew Tom wasn't a good person and I don't think I regretted killing him, I knew that he would have killed more people but I didn't feel good about it at all. Watching Ron die, knowing that in some way I let him die so I had a higher chance of success would likely haunt me for years. I had been using all my skill with the Mind Arts combined with the liquid luck to not rush in a try and save him but I had to accept that maybe I could have done more. I sacrificed him for a better chance, maybe because of him I saved many more lives but now we'll never know. I knew that Ron would likely have been happy to trade his life for Voldemort's, he was a Gryffindor but even martyrs should have some choice over their end. Thinking it through I guess I could accept that by coming along in the first place Ron knew the risks but even if I accepted it I didn't have to like it.

As I was drowning in my own despair a burst of flames caught me by surprise as Fawkes joined me, I began to absently pet him as he sung a mournful song doing his best to help my mood. Through time or the magic of the phoenix when Dobby appeared, bouncing up and down to say he had personally prepared a room for Rose Potter, I was feeling much better.

My new room was on the third floor, left hand side with a view of the lake. The guardian to my room was a portrait of a wizard wielding a staff facing off against a dragon. Their endless duel interrupted only when he turned to enquire about the password. One of the first things I noticed about the room was it wasn't a room. It was a little flat of sorts, I had a small kitchenette, a lounge and there were two bedrooms sharing a bathroom. It appeared that I was sharing this space with Daphne but she wasn't here yet.

Dobby was more than willing to fetch all of my possessions from Gryffindor tower which let me avoid facing Hermione or Ron's family. I knew I was being a coward but I think I'd earnt the right to be. I'd been brave, I'd faced a dark wizard multiple times and now I was free to live a normal life. Heck, right now people didn't know he was gone nor did they know I was involved. There was a chance my fame might begin to wane. I shook my head ruefully. If Dumbledore's trial went ahead then it was likely that the knowledge that I cast the final spell would likely come out.

"Potter!" Came Daphne's angry voice from outside.

"Daphne?" I called back getting up to investigate what had happened I'd opened the portrait before she had replied but she looked peeved.

"Potter, we have to share, that means you have to tell me the password before you hide in there." Daphne said in a slow patronising tone. I would have been offended but I would have been just as annoyed as she was.

"Sorry." I muttered as I stepped aside and let her in. "I set the password as Caput Draconis. It was the password for Gryffindor the first time I entered the tower so it seemed fitting to be the first one for here."

"Its fine. You still all angsty or have you got that out of your system?" She asked.

Well that was tactless and rude.

"I think I've worked through it but I did watch my best friend die and I might have been able to do something about it but chose not to. Forgive me for not being at my best." I replied testily.

Daphne's raised brow was all the response I got. I sighed in frustration before going to the room I had claimed as my own and collapsing on the bed in a heap. It was still quite early but after the last few days I managed to fall asleep easily.

The next morning I woke feeling fresh. It wasn't quite like when I removed the horcrux from me but I felt lighter. The burden of destiny no longer weighed on my shoulders and today was the first day of my new life. I had mourned yesterday enough I was happy enough to begin filtering everything without risking an emotional build-up. I'd let it all out at the funeral but for school I could hold myself together.

Daphne was already up and working on something in our little lounge when I emerged from my room.

"Hey, sorry for last night." I said trying to clear the air.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't know the full details, you had every right to be a mess and I was selfish to want you performing at your best." Daphne replied with a guilty smile. Well that was simple. I nodded in acceptance before I suggested we head down to breakfast. She accepted and together we entered the Great Hall. Umbridge had claimed Dumbledore's throne like seat for her own and was looking extremely smug as she looked down at the students both physically and metaphorically. We were some of the first to arrive and the Gryffindor table was almost completely empty other than a few seventh years who seemed to be working on some NEWT related things over their meal.

The Weasleys and Hermione arrived much later none of them looking like they'd got much sleep. They'd probably only had Ron's death confirmed yesterday so it wasn't a surprise. Hermione led them over to where I was seated but as she sat and opened her mouth came an irritatingly familiar noise.

"Hem, Hem." That cough like noise meant Umbridge had an announcement, rarely a good thing.

"What's going on?" Hermione hissed doing her best to be quiet. I shrugged thinking that if she just waited then all would be explained.

"Good morning everyone." Umbridge paused, giving time for a half-hearted reply. Everyone had been in her classes and knew what was expected of them but they didn't feel any more enthusiastic than normal. "It is my pleasure to begin the day with some good news. As you know Minister Fudge has asked me to look after your future here at Hogwarts. To ensure I have time to do all that needs to be done I have recruited two assistants. These are the first of a team I will be forming to ensure that Hogwarts retains its position as the premier school in the world. I want everyone to give a big round applause to Rose Potter of Gryffindor and Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin." It wasn't energetic but there was a steady clap which seemed to satisfy Umbridge who sat down smiling sweetly.

"Explain." Demanded Hermione who looked angry. I noticed I was getting a few suspicious looks from the rest of the house too.

"Better me than someone who actually approves of her." I replied.

"It was you, you and Greengrass." Hermione hissed angrily as something dawned on her.

"Pardon?"

"You two were the ones who sold out the DA." Hermione spat.

"Ish," I confessed. "It wasn't exactly subtle. We told her a bit so we controlled what she knew. This way she left us to investigate rather than do it herself."

Hermione didn't seem to appreciate my reasoning. Her bushy hair seemed to bounce as she looked around the room before pointing an accusing finger at me.

"Did you sell out the Order and Dumbledore too, is that why he was arrested?" She demanded.

"Of course not." I replied contemptuously. "Nobody expected Fudge to do what he did."

"So it was all planned?" Hermione asked her voice weak as her temper burnt itself out. She didn't have the energy to keep it going. She suddenly looked very tired and on the edge of tears.

"Some stuff was. Ron and Neville didn't know the plan and tried to be Gryffindors." I offered. I didn't want to go into this now. Not at breakfast in the middle of the Gryffindor table, not after Hermione's less that subtle signals that this was private. I had no idea how many people were attempting to eavesdrop us but I was certain at least one or two were.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Hermione said weakly.

"Its not. Unfortunately, they charged in and got themselves hurt because they didn't bother with the details. They were brave but they should never have been there."

"Hypocrite." Hermione tried to joke but her heart wasn't in it. The Weasleys down the table looked even worse.

"I'm going to go check on Neville before Charms." I told her as I got up. The atmosphere was depressing and guilt inducing and I wanted to escape. I had about ten minutes to visit Neville by the time I got to the Hospital wing. I knew a few passageways that would get me there with time to spare. Neville was awake when I got in there and his arm seemed to be better as it was free. His leg was still elevated but he was up and had a herbology text next to him.

"Hey." He offered with a genuine smile. I suspected he was just happy for some company.

"Hey." I replied, my voice quiet and weak as I tried to shake off the guilt that Hermione had re-awoken within me.

"Madam Pomfrey says I'll be let out of here tomorrow morning." Neville offered. "How is everyone else dealing with it all, we didn't get time to chat yesterday?"

"I only have a few minutes now before Charms." I commented. "Everyone is tired and emotionally drained. You know Ron died right?"

Neville looked grim but nodded.

"Yeah Pomfrey told me. Then she told me about the Headmaster."

"Well, you know the Weasleys lost their father just before Christmas and now this. The war is over before it began but that family paid the price. Hermione is an honorary Weasley so she's just as down as they are."

"And what about you?" Neville enquired with concern in his eyes.

"I'll be fine." I told him.

"That's more honest that you'd normally be. You used to just say you were fine no matter what was happening." Neville commented smiling again.

"Yeah but after everything that's happened I've got a new perspective." I hesitated. "Nev, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He replied, his eyes wary but his slight smile undiminished.

"I want to know what you feel about something." I confessed. He gave me a look that reminded me I hadn't actually told him what it was. "Daphne and me, we're the ones who told Umbridge about the DA. We did it knowing that she'd hear somehow, this way we could control what she knows. Hermione still sees this as betraying you lot but I wanted to know how you felt about it."

Neville took some time to consider his answer. As quiet and as nervous as he could be he was honest and true. You normally got a good, well thought out reply from Neville.

"It hurts a bit, you know, you did betray us, but then, you did it to help us. You remember how annoyed you were at Hermione getting your broom confiscated in third year?" I nodded. "I think it's a bit like that. You're trying to do the right thing but she's too caught up in it to see that. When she calms down it'll be fine."

I smiled and glanced to the clock in the corner and realised I had to leave. Neville was sad to see me go but he understood. Charms itself was slow. Flitwick had lost some of his normally irrepressible cheer and I wanted to hit him with a cheering charm. I didn't think it was a good idea but his feelings soaked into the already unenthusiastic class and it was one of the least productive charms classes I'd ever been in.

The rest of the day passed in much the same manner. The staff felt the loss of Dumbledore and so did the rest of the school. Without him the whole place felt less magical somehow. A month of this we'd have to endure, a month before the vote and Dumbledore should be back. I retreated to my new room to hide from Hermione and the Weasleys after class finished. I knew I'd have to face them at dinner but after classes that sapped at my energy I'd lost all the buzz I woke with.

I headed down to dinner under a cloud of gloom. Just being in the school right now was depressing and the misery was infectious. Even the Slytherins were feeling it, that might have been since several of them had lost relatives but it was uniting the school in depression. Combining the misery with Umbridge's perpetual smugness and Hogwarts was not a nice place to be. For years I had spent my summers longing to be here but for the first time I wished to be somewhere else. I wanted to go hide away at the Retreat. I knew Harry and Fleur would shelter me but I'd always stood my ground and fought before. I'd not run from the Dursleys, I'd not run from Voldemort and now I would not run from my own memories.

I sat next to Ginny near the end of the table. Fred and George were missing, I was worried about them especially if they started causing trouble because I didn't want to have to choose between them and Umbridge. I could use my position to marginalise small things but if they did something grand and public I couldn't help them.

"Hey." Ginny said, she was trying but she had her eyes fixed on her plate where she was just pushing her food around.

"Hey." I replied just as quietly.

"I think this year might be worse than my first year." Ginny confessed. It was the first time I'd heard her talk about her experience in the Chamber.

"I'd ask if you were okay but honestly I think I'd be worried if you were." I started.

"You know, we believed you when you said Tom was back. We stood by you, we all knew it would get worse before it would get better. Really if you have stopped him already it's a miracle. Am I a bad person for wishing you'd let more die so Dad and Ron had lived?" Ginny asked as she looked at me at last.

"I don't think so. I've thought the same thing. We had a plan. He was only trying to help but I wish he hadn't been there." I offered.

"I think Ron wouldn't understand why we're all sad." Ginny said with a smile and a slight chuckle but it never reached her eyes.

"I don't know, when your Dad died he seemed to take it very seriously. Then again, I think that if you straight up asked Ron if he'd trade his life to stop Tom forever I think he'd take the trade, he was a true Gryffindor. He never tried to be brave or noble he just did what needed to be done. I wish more of our house were like him. We have some who worry so much about being brave they never actually do anything brave. Ron never took the time to worry, he was too busy saving the world." I replied.

"It came as part of being Rose Potter's friend." Ginny joked. Signs off life returning to her face.

"So you don't hate me?" I asked nervously.

"Nah, I couldn't. You've saved my life, I'd hope that my family would have fought with you if the war had escalated even if we weren't friends but because it was the right thing to do. If this had got worse then we'll never know how many lives you and he saved." Ginny answered. She gave me a squeeze on the shoulder as she got up and left the hall while I finished my meal. Hermione slid into the spot that Ginny recently departed.

"What else have you told Umbridge?" She demanded.

"Pardon?" I checked. I couldn't believe she was doing this, okay that's a lie. I could believe it I just didn't want to.

"I don't think you only told her about the DA." Hermione explained.

"That's nice. We're in the Great Hall and I'm Rose Potter. Were I to have said anything else I wouldn't admit to it where I suspect at least one person is listening at any given time."

"Fine." Hermione snapped. "You've changed Rose."

"I grew up." I sighed. "I had to so you lot didn't have to."

"Wow there Rose." George interjected as he and Fred reappeared in much better moods than at breakfast.

"I think I cut myself on your edginess there." Fred followed up.

"Have you two done something that I'll need to deny knowledge of or cover for with Umbridge?" I asked straight away as they sat and started to reach for food.

"Why Rose, its like you don't trust us." George replied

"That hurts Rose, right here." Fred added with his hands over his heart.

"I'd say I trust you to behave in a certain way." I retorted.

"Then perhaps we might have done something."

I sighed and looked around.

"I'll leave you to it then. If I'm not here then I was never involved. If anyone asked we were talking about what happened at the Ministry, not conspiring." I stated getting up to leave.

"We're not finished Rose." Hermione added and the urge to confund her grew strong but I kept walking and headed back to my rooms. One day down, too many to go. Daphne was in the lounge, work spread over out little coffee table. It did remind me I had some work due so I settled into another chair and began to work through it.

At breakfast the next morning came news that caught everyone's attention. I wasn't sure what to think about it but for better or for worse Fudge had declared the need for an emergency Wizengamot session. Something that hadn't happened since the last Goblin rebellion when they gathered to make a declaration of war. Dumbledore's trial was to happen as soon as Fudge could manage it. In some ways I was pleased, it meant that this mess should be sorted out sooner rather than later but it did mean that there was less time to organise a viable candidate to replace Fudge in the vote of no-confidence.

The whole school, while still gloomy was alive with the mutterings about the new developments. Nobody was quite sure what it meant. Even the purebloods that I knew didn't seem to be able to say which side this move favoured. I wondered quietly if this was in response to Madam Bones' suggestion that Fudge go into hiding until the trial. As I wandered to class rather aimlessly I began to wonder if I could or even should try and do something. It was likely that I would be called as a witness but was there anything I should say or do before that. Harry, having a looser set of morals than I, would probably confund everyone into agreeing with whatever he said. I couldn't do that, the truth had to come out naturally. This is what Dumbledore spoke about when he spoke of the corrupting influence of power. I could use my knowledge and position to bend the minds of the Wizengamot and the public to my view. I could do it and justify it as making sure the best outcome occurred. It would be for the greater good, that vague term that could justify any evil.

I didn't have to think about it for long before being disgusted with myself for even considering it. I went into my charms class and tried to get my head back into school gear. There would be no more secret missions to save the Wizarding World, I was done, I would be normal now. All I wanted to do was get my head down and finish Hogwarts. I just had to hope I wouldn't get bored with normal.

The news of the emergency session seemed to put a spring in Umbridge's step. Her smug face was seen all over and she was nearly skipping down the corridors as she tried her best to clamp down on pro-Dumbledore discussions. I knew I was meant to be doing the same but I couldn't bring myself to care. I would do the patrol I was meant to be doing with Daphne later to ensure the prefects were doing an adequate job because that was something I couldn't get around not doing but this, I could just pretend not to hear them. I'd got good at ignoring other people's discussions in my second year and my experiences last year had helped perfect it.

Umbridge had a note delivered to me at dinner. The emergency session was expected to take all of Friday and would be a closed session meaning nobody in and nobody out throughout the day. I had been excused from classes in case I was needed to be a witness and I should be in Umbridge's office before breakfast. Only a couple of days more before this should be all over.

The days leading up to the trial I got sick of people asking me what happened and what I was going to say. I'd taken to subtly confunding people to leave me alone or putting up a weak repelling enchantment. Hermione had been the most persistent and I didn't want to get into the details. If I said anything that got back to Umbridge then she might try and stop me going to the trial. I would rather deal with an annoyed Hermione at a later date than compromise the outcome of something that would affect the future of the wizarding world. The only person I was regularly talking to was Daphne and that was only in the privacy of our rooms. She understood what was at stake and while her outlook was far more selfish than mine we wanted the same result.

The night before the big day I barely managed to sleep at all and was up well before I was meant to be with Umbridge. I ended up grabbing my broomstick and flying to clear my mind. It's said fresh air in the morning is better than coffee for waking you up and the air in Scotland in January was certainly fresh. I had returned to my room, showered and dressed before there were signs of life from Daphne. I checked the time and decided to bite the bullet and go early to Umbridge, maybe I could speak to Madam Bones and find out what was going to happen.

Umbridge's smug smile had extended to Cheshire cat levels by the time she let me into her garish office. I kept my head down and said as little as I could not wanting to reveal how nervous I was, not because I thought she'd work out that I was planning to help Dumbledore if I could but because I didn't want to listen to her idea of a pep talk.

Once I arrived at the Ministry I was escorted to the elevators and sent to the deepest levels. I had a slight chill go through me as we stepped out into the corridor that led to the Department of Mysteries but I was guided to one of the other doors. It was labelled Courtroom 10. Inside a sea of people were sat in tiered seating all looking down at a familiar chair, this was the same place that the LeStranges had been tried. I remembered watching the chains curl around the accused and wondered if that would happen to Dumbledore. The court usher guided me over to a section of the seating for witnesses, a few faces I recognised from the Order were there already as were several people who looked far too self-important to be anything but Ministry personnel. I wasn't sure what they were here to do and suspected that using legilimency to find out would be too risky. It was unlikely they had good mental protection but if I did get caught and thrown out then Dumbledore might be doomed.

People were coming into the Chamber in twos and threes, all with serious faces. I spied Rita Skeeter and her acid green quill, judging by the writing implements of those around her, the section she was in was set aside for the press. Whatever leverage Hermione thought she had over the woman was nothing compared to this story. Given Rita's tendency to tear apart the public's idols and that by the end of today, either Fudge or Dumbledore's legacy would be in tatters. If Rita had her way it might even be both. Her quill was already scribbling out something and I felt relieved that for once it was unlikely to be another article about me. I had no doubt if my role in Voldemort's defeat came out then I would be getting front page articles but Fudge being removed from office was likely bigger news than me. Most people didn't even know Voldemort had been back so learning he'd been defeated again wasn't news.

Whispers were suddenly shooting around the room grabbing my attention. Fudge had arrived with an escort of aurors. He wasn't smiling but there was an intensity to Fudge, I remembered how broken his mind was when I peeked into it. That intensity was likely on the wrong side of sanity. I couldn't help but feel he wouldn't leave office peacefully. Fudge, like the other members of the Wizengamot wore distinctive robes and looking at the number of empty seats knew it was almost time to start. As Amelia Bones marched in with several more aurors I knew that the players were in place and the game could begin.

"Your attention please." Called out the wizard who had replaced Dumbledore as Chief Warlock, I think I'd read that he was a Bulstrode, either way it was likely he was one of Fudge's friends. The whispers and muttering died down as everyone took their seats.

"A few points of order to begin with." Continued the Chief Warlock now everyone was seated. "We welcome back to this esteemed body, Madam Longbottom and Mr Ogden who took a temporary leave. Now, the agenda for today, we have the trial of Albus Dumbledore for treason, and murder." Mutters and whispers shot around the room as the crimes were announced.

"Settle down, now I have also received a motion to institute a vote of no confidence in Minister Fudge. It has the necessary amount of approval to be voted upon before we move to a DMLE proposal by Madam Bones."

That caused far louder mutters, Fudge looked offended and stood.

"Minister?" Asked the Chief Warlock in confusion at Fudge standing.

"There are traitors among us!" Declared Fudge. "Those moving against me are in league with Dumbledore, aurors, arrest those that called for the motion."

Several aurors stood, snapping to attention but having no clue who started the motion were left awkwardly standing.

"Aurors, stand down!" Ordered Madam Bones.

"Amelia, have them arrested." Fudge urged.

"No Minister, your paranoia is damaging your leadership. This vote has every right to go ahead, you must allow it." Madam Bones warned.

"No, I will not allow this clear attempt to get rid of me. You're either with me or against me. Aurors, remove Madam Bones from her position." Only one or two aurors moved but they were quickly stopped when they realised that the others weren't with them. Madam Bones had the loyalty of the aurors and in my opinion it was clear Fudge had lost the plot, if the Wizengamot thought this to then Fudge was done for.

"Minister, sit down and let the Chief Warlock do his job. You're demonstrating exactly why your opponents don't feel like you should be in power." Madam Bones instructed. I thought it was masterfully done the way she hadn't revealed that she was the driving force behind the motion.

Fudge looked like he wanted to keep going but he slumped down into his seat allowing the Chief Warlock to proceed.

"We shall proceed with the trial of Albus Dumbledore. Bring in in the accused." Ordered the Chief Warlock. A pair of aurors escorted in Dumbledore who was wearing a set of powder blue robes with small red phoenixes patterned onto it. Needless to say it was as vile and garish as his regular wardrobe. Dumbledore was escorted to the chair in the centre of the room but he walked by himself, the aurors didn't feel the need to push or cajole him along. In fact, Dumbledore was smiling at the crowd as he arrived and let out a sigh of relief as he sat down.

"Albus Dumbledore, you stand accused of treason and murder, how do you plead?" Asked the Chief Warlock.

"Ah, I don't stand at all, I am in fact sitting, however I believe myself to be not guilty." Dumbledore replied.

"Then we shall continue. For the record, today acting as prosecution is the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, his second is Madam Bones of the DMLE. I have here a notification that you wish to handle your own defence, is this true?"

"It is." Confirmed Dumbledore.

"The scribe for today is Percival Weasley." Noted the Chief Warlock. I looked towards the front and Percy was indeed there. I wondered briefly how he felt, his father and youngest brother had both died recently for their involvement with Dumbledore. I hadn't spoken to him at Mr Weasley's funeral so I had no clue how he viewed what had happened. Percy was Percy though, he was professional above all else. He would be fine with putting his head down and scribing honestly and fairly.

"We shall now hear the prosecution."

Fudge stood, looking slightly crazed, knowing the vote of no confidence was to follow I suspected he would be feeling the pressure. I briefly wondered why they hadn't handled the vote of no confidence first but that would make sense to me and these were wizards. They were probably just doing it in the chronological order.

What followed was a master class in Dumbledore's version of the truth. It frustrated Fudge so much that he called for the use of veritaserum. Normally the potion was banned but if the accused consented then it could be used. Dumbledore was a Master of the Mind arts, he could abuse veritaserum. The old man's slight smile told me all I needed to know as he gave his consent.

Fudge's irritation grew as Dumbledore continued to tell everyone that he had no intentions to overthrow Fudge. In desperation Fudge turned to Madam Bones. I resisted the urge to smile but I knew this should help us.

"Dumbledore, tell us why you believed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned." Madam Bones instructed. This was the first question about Voldemort. Fudge has been asking questions about Dumbledore's plans.

"The marks on the arms of known Death Eaters had returned following Rose Potter's abduction in the final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I have received eyewitness accounts of his return from several sources and the death of Arthur Weasley was too suspicious to be anything but Voldemort related." Dumbledore explained as gasps were heard all around the room at Voldemort's name.

"And how does the death of Arthur Weasley relate to You-know-who?" Madam Bones asked as a follow up.

"Within the Department of Mysteries there is a recording of all prophecies. There was a prophecy made about Voldemort and one who could vanquish him. He learnt of the prophecy's existence and attacked the Potters leading to his disappearance for over a decade. He wanted to learn the rest of the prophecy before he attempted to kill Rosaline again and thus he needed to retrieve the copy from the Department of Mysteries. Arthur Weasley was killed outside the Department by a snake, a rare breed of snake. Such a snake is known to be a companion of Voldemort."

Madam Bones paused given the Wizengamot time to whisper amongst themselves.

"How did the resurrected You-know-who die?"

"He was killed moments after he killed Ronald Weasley." Dumbledore responded.

"How did Ron Weasley die?" Madam Bones pushed.

I looked down, unable to stop the guilt that I felt with that question.

"Some of the Death Eaters had captured him during the fight down in the Department of Mysteries. Following a short fight the Death Eaters were dealt with but Voldemort took Ronald and held him hostage however when he heard something he didn't like he became enraged and killed Ronald before anything could be done." Dumbledore offered.

Fudge seemed to want to say something, to me it looked like he'd worked out that Madam Bones wasn't exactly helping the prosecution. She gave Fudge a contemptuous look before turning back to Dumbledore.

"Are you responsible for the deaths of anyone that night?" Madam Bones asked. I could see the moment of hurt in Dumbledore's eyes, I knew he felt responsible for every single death and yet in the moments pause before he answered he must have been applying his filtering as he answered.

"I did not take anyone's life that night."

Madam Bones nodded and glanced at Fudge who seemed confused at that answer. He leant over to her to confer. I could see that she rolled her eyes as he whispered in her ear but luckily the Minister couldn't see.

"Mr Dumbledore, if you did not kill anyone that night then who killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" There was reluctance in Madam Bones' voice. I knew she knew the answer but hadn't wanted to ask the question.

"Rose Potter." Admitted Dumbledore quietly. I felt the eyes of the room on me. We had all known it was probably going to come out. Either through the prophecy or like this. Fudge stood immediately.

"The prosecution calls for Rosaline Potter as a witness." I stood and made my way down to the front. Every step felt like it added weight to my shoulders. The burden of the wizarding world was once again on me. Really, I wasn't sure what Fudge was going for, Dumbledore had basically worked his way out of any convictions. The court usher and an auror led me the rest of the way and I was conjured a chair to sit in.

"Do you consent to take veritaserum?" Fudge asked. His eyes had a manic gleam to them that had me worried but I knew I could beat the potion if I needed to. From what I knew the use of the truth potion was banned on minors but I didn't care. If it made the Wizengamot trust me more I was fine with bending the rules slightly. The Wizengamot may have allowed Fudge and Malfoy to buy them but for the most part they were a balanced lot. Without Malfoy's gold involved it was almost certainly going to be a fair trial. Heck, if it was as stacked against the muggleborns as some believed there would have been no need for Voldemort in the first place. Never mind that though as Auror John Dawlish was approaching me with a vial of clear potion. Three drops were placed onto my tongue and I felt the potion take effect.

Fudge asked my name as the standard test question before he moved onto the real subject. The first question he asked however helped me and he wouldn't realise until later how it hurt him.

"Miss Potter, describe how you have been aiding the Ministry this year." Fudge instructed. I barely had to filter, to decide what my own truth was.

"This year I have assisted Madam Umbridge at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to raise the standard of education." I answered, my voice flattened out by the veritaserum.

Fudge nodded, pleased that I hadn't betrayed him, or so he thought.

"Tell us about Dumbledore's plans."

That was harder, I had told Umbridge lies, lies which she had almost certainly told Fudge.

"Dumbledore had supporters outside of the castle." I answered truthfully. "He was in regular communication with them." Fudge seemed to hone in on that. His expression was worrying.

"Did Dumbledore's supports approve of me?" Fudge asked.

"I don't know." I replied. I hadn't spoken to the Order about Fudge, I think Tonks might have expressed her irritation but I hadn't spoken to many of them. "They tended just to do what Dumbledore told them."

Fudge nodded in acceptance. He was likely hearing what he wanted to hear but I don't think I had said anything that can be used against Dumbledore.

"Is it true that Dumbledore controls where you live when not at school?"

"He placed me at the Dursleys." I replied. I had suppressed the urge to say no, that I lived that the Retreat and this summer I had been free to do what I wanted.

"And how did the Durselys treat you?" Fudge asked.

"Poorly, they hate the idea of magic." I replied. I pondered for a moment if Fudge was going to have the charges changed to some form of negligence or child endangerment but it was probably too late now. I didn't really understand what angle Fudge could go for. Dumbledore has already told everyone that Voldemort was back and that he had been killed.

"And during his time as Headmaster have you regularly been exposed to danger?" Fudge asked.

"Yes." I replied having no way out. I could maybe have said I had exposed myself to the danger and the headmaster had no part but the veritaserum was strong. The urge to give an honest answer was relentless. He hadn't asked if the Headmaster had created the danger but merely if I had been exposed it.

"And has the Headmaster dealt with the danger himself?" Asked Fudge. The Wizengamot whispered, there had been rumours around the school for years and if they had children or relatives at the school then they would have heard about some of the things that had happened.

"No." I admitted. What more could I say, he had helped, he had destroyed the stone after the danger had passed, Fawkes and the hat might have been sent by him but I didn't know for sure. In my third year he had driven off the dementors once but I had to deal with them by myself after that. In forth year the whole tournament was a danger and Dumbledore had to keep himself from helping.

I felt as cold as the stone that cladded the chamber as Fudge turned around, his back now facing me as he addressed the Wizengamot.

"Hogwarts has long been independent of the Ministry, this year I have made steps to bring order through the High Inquisitor. I cannot remove the Headmaster but I can ask this body to ban him from interacting with children which makes his position difficult."

Fudge did have some aspects that had got him elected to be Minister it seemed. He might be borderline insane, paranoid and utterly spineless but he could work a crowd.

"Miss Potter, in your opinion has Dumbledore failed the students of Hogwarts at times?" Fudge demanded as he turned to me. I paused, I was filtering out the immediate yes as I tried to work out how to spin this. He had invited Voldemort into the castle with the stone, he hadn't dealt with the basilisk nor had he stopped Crouch impersonating Moody.

"Dumbledore could have done more." I conceded. It had been hard to get that much out instead of the immediate yes but it might have been too much, I was worried it had proved that I could flex my answers under the potion. Fudge's triumphant face let me think I'd got away with it, he was too busy hearing what he wanted to hear.

Fudge handed over to Dumbledore, letting him handle his defence which mean the Headmaster could question me. He had hesitated before he did it but Madam Bones was keeping the trial fair.

"Rose my dear, this trial is about treason and murder. Have I murdered anyone as far as you are aware?" The Headmaster asked.

"No." I responded, thankfully the potion dulled the excitement in my tone.

"Are you aware of any plans I have made to remove the Minister?"

"No." The plans were made by me and Madam Bones, Dumbledore wasn't involved, I don't think anyone had even told Dumbledore.

"Was the self-named Lord Voldemort resurrected at the end of the Tri-Wizard and stopped permanently recently?" Dumbledore asked, not even looking at me but at the Wizengamot.

"Yes." I confirmed.

Dumbledore gave the Wizengamot a significant look. The look Dumbledore used to remind everyone who he was and why he knew best. If I wasn't under a potion fuelled haze I would have grinned.

"So, in conclusion, the charges levelled against me are fabrications of the Minister?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes." I had to supress the urge to blurt that I had murdered Voldemort and possibly some of the Death Eaters not to mention I had plotted to remove the Minister but that wasn't what I had been asked, that was the potion urging me to reveal things. I couldn't lie but I didn't have to say everything.

Dumbledore gave me a gentle smile and declared himself finished with me as a witness. I was given the antidote to the veritaserum and the usher escorted me back to my seat. All around me there was quiet discussions. It seemed to me that the trial should be over now unless Fudge had some other witness I didn't know about. I wasn't alone in that opinion as the Chief Warlock stood causing everyone to go quiet.

"Unless there is some new evidence I am prepared to dismiss the charges and proceed to the next item on our agenda, do I have a second?"

Almost immediately a second came, Fudge looked outraged but said nothing as he slumped into his seat looking like a broken man. His anger seemed to leave him as the realisation of what he faced dawned on him. I think Fudge knew he was done.

There was a quick vote which gave a huge majority to dismiss the charges. It all moved far too quickly for Fudge to lodge the child endangerment charges instead.

"We move onto the motion to dismiss Minister Fudge. The motion was submitted by Mr Diggory, Mr Diggory if you please." Directed the Chief Warlock.

I thought it was a master stroke by Madam Bones to not have submitted the motion in her own name. The Diggory family was likely to be angry with Fudge, he had refused to investigate what happened to Cedric. The tournament was dangerous and by entering Cedric had accepted the risks Fudge had claimed in the Prophet over the summer before they started hinting I was responsible.

"The Minister has been negligent and unwilling to accept the truth. Instead he has increasingly lent on the press and his friends to present his own version of events. Under his leadership, the worst Dark Wizard of his time has returned and he did nothing and left a school girl to deal with him. Under his leadership the Press has lost its freedom. Minister Fudge has been corrupt, everyone knows that the late Lucius Malfoy had bought the Minister's ear and I want him charged with corruption once his title has been stripped from him." Mr Diggory declared.

The motion was well supported and quickly moved to a vote as few felt more evidence was needed in the wake of the failed trial and Fudge's panic before it.

"Before we have the vote, procedure demands a well-supported replacement. Do we have a candidate?" The Chief Warlock checked, he sounded tired and reluctant but he was doing his job.

"The removal of a sitting Minister has only happened three times in our history. In this we need a stable leader to handle the change. We therefore propose Tiberius Ogden become Minister for the interim. He comes from an old family and is aware of our history and tradition but his protest against the position of High Inquisitor and the deformation of Professor Dumbledore showed his has a back bone and more moral fibre than the previous minister." Diggory suggested.

Muttering went through the Wizengamot. I could almost feel the tide turning. Without Malfoy, there was nobody for the opposition to rally around and nobody wanted to stick out. With so many pragmatists in the Wizengamot they weren't going to risk sounding like they supported a Death Eater or Fudge who was clearly on the way out. They weren't going to fight the tide.

Ogden quickly gathered the support he needed and the vote was held. It was a landslide against Fudge. Ogden quickly nominated Diggory for a position as Senior Undersectary which meant that Umbridge was on the way out. Diggory accepted and nominated his deputy to take over in the Creatures Department he headed. I sat as all this happened and allowed myself to hope. To my side, I could hear the Ministry personnel grumbling about what was happing. They were probably fearing for their jobs.

"Now onto the proposal by Madam Bones." Directed the Chief Warlock.

"Part of what led to current events was the battle beneath the Ministry. People dressed in Death Eater regalia and with Marks upon their arms fought against some supporters of Professor Dumbledore and Rose Potter. Several from both sides perished in the battle but some of the other Death Eaters were captured by DMLE personnel. I propose they are tried as Death Eaters, we do not need the entire Wizengamot for their trials. I therefore propose a justice subcommittee to sit as a jury in the trials. I also nominate those who died in the fight against the Death Eaters for the Order of Merlin, third class. They died fighting a fight that belonged to the Ministry at a time the aurors were unable to act. Their sacrifice led to the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named before he could implement another decade of darkness."

Madam Bones had spoken well and there was a round of applause. A cynical part of me had to wonder if it was staged. Having yet more pressure put on those that would defend them. In the face of such approval the motion was sure to pass. I wasn't sure of its implications by Madam Bones ought to know what she was doing.

There were a few more discussions that I barely paid attention to before the day ended. As most people began to flood out I made my way towards Dumbledore who had a group of well-wishers around him. If he was cleared of his charges I wanted to know if he was Headmaster again. From what Fudge had implied earlier and from what I remember from second year only the board of governors could remove the Headmaster.

"Ah Rose." Dumbledore greeted me as he dismissed the last of the crowd.

"Headmaster." I nodded in reply.

"Let us walk." Dumbledore instructed before leading me towards the doors at the back of the courtroom. Dumbledore produced his wand from somewhere, I assume one of the aurors had returned it. Having worked on my senses with the Headmaster this year I felt the slight ripple of magic as Dumbledore weaved a spell of silence over us to protect us from eavesdroppers.

"I'm sure that the last few days have been very hard on you." Dumbledore stated. It was very Dumbledore in the way he just put out a statement and let in hang. Feeling no need to be difficult I replied.

"Madam Umbridge gave and Daphne Greengrass and myself our own rooms. I've been hiding in them." I admitted.

"While I would caution against you abandoning your friends I do understand the upheaval you have been through. In my opinion you have made a rather large advancement in your studies this year. As such it would not be overly harmful to your OWLs were you to take a short leave away from the school." Dumbledore offered.

"I might just do that." It would be nice, have a week away. I would come back fresh and hopefully I could avoid Umbridge and any fall out from her. If she was gone by the time I returned, then all the better.

"I believe that a house elf could collect your belongings from the school if you wished to go now." Advised Dumbledore as we reached the elevator. I nodded in acceptance. "If you wouldn't mind could you pass on to Harry that I would like to speak to him. I have had a lot of time to think while I have been away from the school and I would like to talk to him about some of my plans."

"I'll tell him." I confirmed.

The atrium was packed. There might have been a press section within the Wizengamot but it seemed there were even more out here waiting. Dumbledore smiled genially at them as he continued walking, never slowing. Until you had to keep up with him people tend to forget how tall Dumbledore is. His long legs caused me jog every few steps so as not to fall behind. We left the Ministry as we headed into muggle London.

"I think we separate here." Dumbledore stated with a knowing smile as he stepped into a side alley that hid us from view.

"Sir?" I checked. I could apparate but how did he know? All I got was a knowing smile as he twisted on the spot and disapparated. Perhaps my lack of protest told him all he needed to know or perhaps he had some other way of knowing. I'd probably given it away when I apparated to Grimmauld Place before we raided the Ministry. I was far too quick. Alternatively, I might have apparated in one of the duels he'd watched.

Harry met me at the front door to the Retreat. I must have triggered some alert. He looked tired but not angry or in any way bothered by my unexpected arrival. Just being here I felt more relaxed. The weight on my shoulders had lifted again.

"It's over. Fudge is gone. Dumbledore is free." I told him. He smiled softly and held the door wide for me.

"How long are you here for?" He asked. It didn't sound like he was trying to get rid of me so I took no offense and answered honestly.

"A week I think. Dumbledore told me that I should be fine taking some time to get my head together. Oh and he wants to talk to you."

He nodded and led me through to the lounge. Jeevesy was sent to collect my belongings and move them into my room here. Fleur was coming home in a few hours but for now it was just me and Harry. Harry was sat on the sofa, absently spinning his brutal claw shaped knife around his finger, I was lying feet up on another sofa when Fleur arrived.

"Well you two look energetic."

"Join us?" Harry offered. And with a sigh of faux reluctance she walked over and confiscated Harry's knife and curled into his side. "Welcome home. Tea?" Harry offered.

She nodded and Jeevesy soon popped in to supply her.

"How was work?" I asked staring at the high ceiling.

"I do not want to talk about work. Ze goblins are greedy and power-hungry and some of the people I 'ave to work for are awful." Fleur replied. She sounded weary but there was no venom in her tone. She wasn't annoyed by the question but just wanted to move on.

"How's school been?" Harry asked.

"Different." I replied. I hesitated as I tried to work out how to describe it. "Ron is dead. My first friend other than Hedwig or Hagrid. Every corridor we've walked together is a reminder. The Weasleys are a big part of Gryffindor and I can't spend time there without remembering their father and brother died because of me. You were there, I hesitated and took my shot at Tom. I didn't even try to save Ron."

Neither Harry nor Fleur said anything. Fleur looked miserable and Harry was clearly concerned. They didn't have to be worried, I could handle it with time. More than just the memories of Ron I just didn't want to face Hermione and the Weasleys, I didn't know if it would be worse if they blamed me or if they didn't and forgave me without ever understanding what I had done, or more accurately what I failed to do.

"You did what you had to do. It wasn't nice, it wasn't pretty but it finished everything." Harry tried.

"I know!" I snapped. "Sorry, I know I probably did the right thing, it just doesn't feel like it."

Harry accepted that. Fleur tried to smile but I could see in her eyes she was still worried about me.

"How are you Fleur, last I saw Harry was helping you home?" I asked, trying to move the conversation away from me.

"It was ze second time I 'ave been 'it wiz ze curciatus curse. It 'urts just as much ze second time." Fleur replied. I'd forgotten she was held under the curse by the imperiused Krum in the third task. "Of course, zis time I 'ad someone to help me feel much better after." Fleur remarked smirking up at Harry. I didn't feel the need to ask for details. Their closeness often made me feel uncomfortable at the best of times.

I hesitated, I'd wanted to ask her how she felt about killing that Death Eater. She had looked horrified at the time but fine now. Harry had confessed to me over the summer that he had enough experience to flip a mental switch and turn himself into a sociopath. I didn't want to turn off all moral responsibility but I wanted to know how to get better. I knew time would help but I wanted to feel better now.

"So what do you think Dumbledore wants to speak to me about?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. He just said that he'd had a lot of time to think and plan. Then he said he wanted to speak to you about them." I replied.

"Fleur, thoughts?" Harry asked. She shrugged at him. Not knowing Dumbledore particularly well nor do I think she cared too much.

We didn't stay up particularly late. The last few nights were catching up with me and Fleur had work in the morning. I was asleep seconds after I clambered into bed. I woke late, my curtains had been charmed to be blackouts so the rising of the sun hadn't disturbed me. It was gone eleven before I emerged from by covers. I had the grogginess that comes with sleeping too much but I felt good. Trudging through the house I found Harry in a large, relatively empty room downstairs. He was walking around what appeared to be a block of marble.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I leant against the doorway.

"I don't have my qualification here. I'm working on getting my transfiguration mastery back." Harry explained without turning.

"And this?" I asked, gesturing towards the marble, he didn't turn and look but he knew what I was asking about.

"There are a bunch of aspects for Mastery. You have to show competency in several disciplines and prove that you're capable of working on your own research projects. To show that I have mastered the subject my transfigurations must have flair. This is going to become a statue of some sorts to count towards the embellishment aspect of my transfiguration. It needs to be highly detailed and visually attractive. It doesn't have to be a complex transfiguration. I'm not even going to change the material just the shape."

"Can I watch?" I was intrigued.

"Sure." Harry replied as he started to circle the block again. "Last time, in my world, I turned an old shoe into a decorative glass vase."

I stayed still as Harry drew his wand. He pressed the tip against the marble and the whole block seemed to liquefy. It flowed up and grew thinner as it began to reshape itself. Then end-product was a marble statue of a woman holding a flower to her chest. The elegance grace of her features left me smirking. It wasn't hard to work out who he had modelled it on. The bottom of the block was a beautifully styled podium. There an engraving on the base naming the piece 'Flower of my Heart.'

"I'll send in a copy of my memory for review with a few others and see how I do." Harry told me.

I shook my head and left. I couldn't tell if he was a hopeless romantic or just lacking alternative inspiration. Either way it was too much for me to deal with. I wandered through into what was meant to be the library but was lacking books. There seemed to be more on the shelves than when we first moved in. I sat in one of the reading chairs and sat down with one of the fiction books Fleur had collected. Without television reading for pleasure was something that both Harry and Fleur enjoyed. Jeevesy retrieved me after an hour or so for a light lunch but otherwise I was left to my own devices till the evening.

Having the whole day to myself, nobody demanding or expecting anything of me, was wonderful. While I had escaped into the pages of the book, I had time to relax. Without focusing on avoiding people my mind could wander. The wandering was helping me, for months I had been using the mind arts. The intense levels of focus had been waring me down.

For dinner that night Harry had convinced Jeevesy to take a night off and gone out to get some greasy yet delicious take away that the little elf would never have approved off. I remembered Fleur's comments about Hogwarts food and smiled as she dug into something far worse for her than that. We chatted about Christmases gone by for some reason none of us could remember as we ate. After dinner Fleur pulled out some paperwork she had to fill out for an evaluation she was working on and made her excuses to move into Harry's study.

Harry took me into a room and showed me how to enchant it to be temporarily bigger on the inside and how to transfigure and reshape the inside without effecting the outside. Then he introduced me to a game called squash. A muggle game but one that could be played with wands instead of rackets provided you used a special combination of transfiguration on your own wand combined with a modified banishing charm. Apparently, it was good fun and could be justified as improving your spell swatting skills. Squash games became a regular fixture of our days once I got the spells down. Harry and Fleur had started playing shortly after I left for Hogwarts but we were a little too busy over Christmas to play.

The only interruption to my relaxation was Ron's funeral. Fawkes had delivered the invitation and details. Once again Harry and Fleur escorted me but this time I stuck close to them as they shielded my from the attention. While it was perhaps a tad disrespectful Fleur hadn't bothered with her revulsion spells meaning more people were staring at her than at me for which I was hugely grateful. With the news that I had killed Voldemort moments after he had killed Ron leaking out after the trial several people wanted to ask for details. I just wanted to remember Ron. Brave Ron who always tried to do the right thing. Ron who could be a rude, jealous prat but when it came down to it he would always have my back. Mrs Wealsey was crying too much to say anything to me, Ginny was doing her best to look after her. I saw Hermione glaring at me but she didn't come over to say anything thankfully. It was far too similar to Mr Weasley's funeral and they were far too close together.

The night before I returned to Hogwarts I was sat with Harry and Fleur in the lounge. Fleur was lying across a sofa, her feet in Harry's lap while she seemed to be doing some weird form of juggling. She would flick her wand and send a ball flying up, she had three going and as they fell she'd shoot them back up. I don't think there was a point but she was slightly bored. It was strange the way she used magic so carelessly. Her boredom would be fascinating for any muggle watching as she played with the impossible.

"Rose, you need to think about your public image." Harry suggested, his tone was serious and I sighed.

"Why, I'm the girl-who-lived and I'm probably even more famous than before despite most people never being bothered by Voldemort this time, why can't I just ignore them?"

"Its what they expect from you. You cursed Voldemort in the back when he wasn't paying attention. Now we all know that, we know that it was the plan. The public however, they expect some huge duel between good and evil. Voldemort was as powerful and as talented as Dumbledore in some ways and you beat him. In terms of talent where do they expect you do be?"

I knew what he was getting at. I wasn't an average Hogwarts student in the eyes of the public. I was a prodigy. I knew a few obscure spells and thanks to the combined efforts of Dumbledore, Harry, Fleur and Kingsley I felt safe saying I was quite advanced for my age but I probably knew less than most sixth and seventh years. I knew a few tricks and I was good at them but I didn't have the same depth.

"So what can I do about it?" I asked. I sounded whiney, even to myself.

"Don't use much magic in front of people. Just look smug and knowing before performing when called upon. If you seem unapproachable then you'll be bothered less and if people never see you tested, then they can never see you fail. When no-one is looking, you work hard and stay ahead of the class." Harry recommended.

"So just don't give them anything to criticise." I checked.

"Yeah and look like you know far more. People will never be happy but honestly nobody can tell you what great magical feats look like whereas everyone know what failure looks like." Harry added.

I accepted that. Fourth year had got easier after I did well in the first task. Second year when nothing was being done about the heir of Slytherin stuff, it had been awful.

"Zis is boring." Fleur declared banishing her floating objects to the corner of the room. "Let us play a game or something."

We spent the rest of the evening playing a game of exploding snap. It was the strangest game I'd ever played. Both Harry and I had been trained at different times to feel magic and Fleur was naturally more inclined to feel it than most. As a result we could all feel the explosions coming. To counter this, we were free to fill the room with as much distracting magic as we could. It was like being in a room with the Weasley twins at their worst.

Dumbledore had wanted to meet Harry and Fleur had a day off so we all apparated to Hogwarts together. We arrived outside the front gate, the edge of the anti-apparition jinx, with a loud crack. The Gate swung open for us as we approached and we made our way up the lawn towards the castle itself.

"Its still beautiful." Harry commented in a wistful tone, I could tell he missed this place. For better or for worse this place had been our first homes.

"Beauxbatons is more beautiful, 'ogwarts may 'ave character but it lacks beauty." Fleur replied. Her slight smirk told me she was poking fun at us. I had to wonder what she really thought of the castle. She hadn't seemed impressed last year but I hadn't known her well enough to pick up on her moods and habits like I could now. Knowing how little she enjoyed interacting with regular people she might well have been deliberately offensive to drive away others. Only people who would stand up for their opinions were worth her time. Rodger Davies was pathetic enough that she could have called Hogwarts a shack with no redeeming features and he would have nodded and smiled at her.

"One day you might have to take me there." Harry commented as he paused and seemed to be enjoying the view of the lake. "That lake has never been the same for me after the second task."

"No, somehow the squid is fine. Trident wielding merpeople are something else." I replied. Fleur simply frowned slightly, likely remembering her failure.

The castle was quiet, it was about ten in the morning so most people were in class. The few NEWT students that had free periods were either catching up on much needed sleep or would be in the library.

"Mr Potter, Miss Potter and Miss Delacour. I welcome you all back to Hogwarts." Dumbledore greeted them at the grand staircase. "Let us retreat to my office. Several others will be joining us there."

We followed, not saying anything, Dumbledore hummed as he walked. With Dumbledore back, his shamelessly eccentric robes clashing with the muted colours of the stone walls of Hogwarts it felt like home. Portraits watched them pass with soft smiles, it seemed everything was back to normal. It was a lie of course, it could never go back but right now I was willing to lie to myself and pretend.

Dumbledore didn't need to give his password, he just smiled at the gargoyle that guarded the staircase to his office, it simply nodded its ugly head and stepped to the side. Whoever was joining us wasn't there already. I watched Fleur as I went to sit in my regular seat. This was her first time in Dumbledore's office. The circular room was full of its regular trinkets and that more than anything confirmed Umbridge had never managed to get in here. Harry had flicked his wand at one of the cushy armchairs Dumbledore liked in front of his desk and it became a replica of the sofa Harry and Fleur shared at the Retreat. Fleur hesitated for a moment before joining Harry.

"We shall give everyone else a few minutes to arrive, might I interest you in a lemon sherbert?"

Three polite refusals followed and a then Dumbledore's fire flared green. Snape emerged from it. His regular scowl only grew when he spotted me as it developed into his full anti-Potter sneer. His dark eyes flicked to Harry and Fleur but he said nothing as he went to stand in the shadows off to the side. A knock on the door preceded the arrival of Flitwick and McGonagall. =

"That's everyone. Unfortunately, Pomona is teaching right now and is unable to join us." Dumbledore informed us.

"For those of you who haven't met, or don't remember let me introduce Harry Potter and Fleur Delacour."

"A Potter?" McGonagall asked. I could almost hear Snape growl.

"I am a Potter." Harry confirmed.

"He does look like James." She commented.

"But he has Lily's eyes, just like Rose." Flitwick added.

"They never had another child." McGonagall replied.

I just watched the interaction amused. I knew the truth, Harry had told Fleur and he had also told Dumbledore. It was amusing to know more than the teachers albeit over such a small thing.

"Harry's parentage isn't what I wish to discuss. I have called you all together for something else." Said Dumbledore from behind his desk. There was a pause, nobody asked what they had been called together for, they were patient and let Dumbledore explain.

"Madam Umbridge has been removed from her position." Dumbledore started. "In my time as a guest of the Ministry I had much time to think. I have come to the conclusion that perhaps there was a valid reason for her position."

"Albus, she was awful." Said McGonagall.

"Madam Umbridge was not my preferred candidate but I do believe there have been failings at the school. I have decided that it is time I retire."

A pause, an audible intake of breath from the teachers to my side. Harry's face is calculating while Fleur is smiling pleasantly but I know she is confused. Me, I'm just waiting for the outbursts.

"But Albus?" Protests McGonagall.

"Headmaster?" Questions Flitwick only a second behind.

A year ago I would have been with them. Now I took a second to consider, Dumbledore had been given much time to think. This wasn't a spur of the moment thing. He would have done his reasoning and while he might compromise I doubted he'd change his mind. The question was no longer, was he staying but what does this mean? I glanced around the room. Snape's face had dropped the sneer, he hadn't been expecting this but his eyes revealed the git was thinking fast.

"I have been the Headmaster for such a long time. I don't know how many years I have left before I begin my next great adventure and I would like to do some travelling. I might even write a book or two." Dumbledore commented as he confirmed his intentions.

"Why are they here?" Snape asked waving his hand in my general direction and I could assume he included Harry and Fleur in the question.

Why were we here? I wasn't sure but we were here for a reason.

"Please be patient Severus and all will be explained. Now Minerva, you have long been my Deputy, are you prepared to rise to Headmistress?"

"I still think you could do some good here but if you insist I shall do my duty." McGonagall replied.

"Then might I suggest you consider appointing Filius as your Deputy. He has been here for some time and I believe he has earnt the position."

"Filius, would you be willing?" McGonagall checked.

"I would be honoured." Squeaked the little charms teacher.

"We would need to recruit a new transfiguration teacher." Noted McGonagall.

"Indeed we would. We also need another new defence teacher." Added Dumbledore

"And a new potions teacher." Interjected Snape. I didn't even try to fight the smile.

"Severus?" McGonagall queried.

"You all know my less than savoury past," started Snape. "I swore that I would see the end of the Dark Lord. He is finished and so am I. I have been at Hogwarts because I had to be. Perhaps now I might do some research or some other pursuit where I am not held back by the sea of inadequacy here."

"Severus." Warned Dumbledore, he sounded tired in my opinion but I noted with some amusement that he neither reprimanded him nor disputed his claim.

"So, a new Potions teacher, new Defence Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration." Summarised McGonagall.

"New heads of Slytherin and Gryffindor will also be needed." Dumbledore reminded her. I hadn't thought about that. I didn't even know the house affiliation of most of the teachers. I'd never really thought about it before, I assume most of them were former Ravenclaws but I couldn't say with certainty.

"Severus, is there anyone you would recommend as your replacement?" McGonagall asked.

The potions teacher paused. I wondered if he was remembering how few people took NEWT potions with him. His teaching, or lack thereof had likely led to a shortage of qualified potion brewers.

"I will give you a list." He needed more time to think. Probably time to go through his old records.

"I recommend to consider Mr Potter here for the transfiguration position." Dumbledore offered. He turned to Harry and pulled out a scroll which he held out to Harry. "A friend of mind from the Transfiguration Guild is allowing me to had this over to you. Confirmation of your Mastery Mr Potter, I've seen some of your excellent work and I must say I am impressed."

Harry took the scroll and put it inside an inner pocket of his ridiculous long coat without checking it. Fleur was beaming with pride as if it was her own accomplishment.

"Congratulations Mr Potter. Would you be interested in interviewing for the position?" McGonagall asked.

Harry didn't respond immediately instead he looked to Fleur as they silently communicated before glancing to me. I sent feelings of approval forwards in case he was using passive legilimency to pick up on my opinions.

"I would be." I was already thinking how interesting it could be with Harry at the school.

"Perhaps a handover, or try-out period might be best," suggested Dumbledore. "If I retire at the end of the school year we have time for you to observe Mr Potter teach and advise him."

"Miss Delacour, are you here to be recommended for a job too?" Asked Flitwick.

"Non, my best subject 'as always been Charms and 'ogwarts 'as a good Charms teacher."

"I must confess she is merely here as a guest." Dumbledore admitted. "While she is welcome here, her presence was unexpected."

I wondered why I was still here. If he wanted to give the job to Harry for some reason it made sense for him to be here but me?

"With Voldemort dead, the curse on the Defence position should fade. The next one might be around for some time so chose carefully." Harry commented.

"A thorough check of one's qualifications with occur I assure you." Retorted McGonagall seemingly insulted by Harry's words. Harry smiled politely at her, its hard to argue with someone when they smile at you. Not to mention the recent hires hadn't given McGonagall a leg to stand on.

"Now, I have told you my intentions, we can work out the details at a later point. I wish to speak to the Potters and Miss Delacour and I'm sure you're all very busy people."

The staff took the dismissal as what it was and left with McGonagall promising to owl Harry about the teaching position before she left.

"I'm surprised you trust me that much." Harry stated after the others had departed.

"It might not be the humblest approach but I trust myself. If I saw enough potential to teach you myself in addition to Professor McGonagall's more than adequate tuition, then I expect you are something special."

Harry's smirk said everything that needed to be said.

"Now Rose, Madam Umbridge has been removed from her position by the new Minister. With her gone the positions she created for you have also gone. That being said, I understand the position you have been put in and will therefore offer you the privilege to keep your private room. I would ask that you do not remove your friends from your life but I know better than any the pressures that come with defeating a Dark Lord. I also reluctantly admit that Hogwarts has not been all it could. While your position with Madam Umbridge was created to sow discord and strife it was allowed due to the perceived failings of this school. I would ask that you and Miss Greengrass collect your findings and present them to myself and Professor McGonagall so we can ensure Hogwarts remains the premier school in the world."

"I'd like to keep my room." I told the Headmaster. It was a nice space to have. I enjoyed my privacy now and I liked chatting with Daphne. Part of me was still wanting to avoid Hermione or anything that would remind me of Ron.

"I thought as much. Miss Greengrass has not been asked to vacate the suite. I wanted to wait for your decision."

"Thank you."

"How are you Miss Delacour, I missed you when I visited your home over the Christmas holiday?" The Headmaster asked.

We made polite conversation for a while longer. Dumbledore, it seemed wanted to forge links with Harry and Fleur while also making me feel welcome. Harry and Fleur flooed out to the Leaky Cauldron around lunch time before they would wander into muggle London for a date. I decided to eat in the Kitchens and left with Dumbledore saying that while Voldemort had been vanquished he was still willing to teach me if I was still willing to learn. Lunch had started a while ago and I hadn't wanted to wander in half way through and face the stares. After I was sure most of the students were in class I made my way back to the suite I shared with Daphne.

Jeevesy had already returned my belongings to my room. I hadn't told Daphne when I left nor had I told her I was returning. Dumbledore might have explained what happened to her but it would be understandable if it was low on his list of priorities. I checked the timetable I had stuck to the wall in my room. I was supposed to be in potions now. I felt no need to subject myself to that. Transfiguration was the last lesson of the day. I'd go to that, sit through McGonagall. Something I wouldn't get to do much more.

I took the time to change into my uniform and prepare myself. I wanted to just slip into the class. McGonagall wouldn't let people pester me and if they just got used to my presence then it wouldn't have the same shock value as just turning up at dinner tonight or breakfast tomorrow. My bag was packed and I had time to sit before I headed to class. Unfortunately, I'd got ready too quickly and had given myself time to wind myself up and somehow, this was far harder on my nerves than facing Voldemort. I sat, stewing before deciding it was time.

Harry and Fleur had weaved a mild repelling enchantment into my school robes. It was weak but it meant people tended not to stare. Their eyes just slid over me unless they were looking for me specifically. This let me get to the classroom without being harassed. McGonagall had a class so I had to wait outside her room. In the corridor Coming up from Potions the other Gryffindors seemed grumpy. That was completely normal. Snape might be leaving at the end of the year but the cruel petty git would make us all suffer till the last moment. Neville was the first to notice me.

"Hey, you." He greeted me with a warm smile. His arm was still bandaged slightly but it seemed he had full freedom of movement.

"Hi." I replied. Hermione was about to say something but then the class came out of the classroom and in the noise, I didn't hear what she had to say. I used the opportunity to slip into the class and take a seat near the front. One where people wouldn't talk to me or else they would risk McGonagall's ire. Hermione slid into the seat next to me and Neville took the spot on my other side, what would have been Ron's seat and then the whole way back to the common room he would have moaned about being that close to the front.

The lesson revised living to non-living transfigurations. We'd finished vanishing and were now making sure we covered everything that would be on the OWLs. Not much was said other than incantations as the class worked on turning their cuckoos into clocks. Remembering Harry's advice, I took my time before casting the spell. I wanted to get it right first time, to give people no reason to doubt me.

The spell took, the little bird changed colour and shape as it warped, twisted and grew into a small pendulum clock. It wasn't perfect, the ticking noise from the swinging pendulum was questionable and the whole thing was slightly off in colour. The grain of the wood also looked a bit like feathers but it functioned fine. A quick poke and the outer layer of wood transformed into a brass finish hiding all of the slight defects.

Having finished I took a quick glance around the class. Seamus' attempt seemed to be smoking somehow. Lavender and Parvati both had small watches with pink straps but the straps seemed to be flapping like wings. Hermione had an entire cuckoo clock but it seemed pale and washed out somehow. The edges weren't crisp giving the whole thing a slightly melted feel. Technically it was quite advanced but it seemed her heart wasn't in it. On my other side, Neville had produced as small robust looking pocket watch. It was simple and lacking embellishment but it seemed like a good functioning finished article. Clocks were quite advanced transfigurations as you either had to know how they worked inside or push enough magic into them to compensate. There was a reason transfiguration was considered dangerous. Push too hard and things exploded or overheated.

McGonagall was doing her rounds, checking on the class, she had just finished with the Hufflepuffs and was making her way over to us. Normally Hermione would have been sat upright trying to show off her work but she just looked tired. I kept quiet, not wanting to draw attention. My work was good and I wanted to keep it like that but people had expectations of me, now more so than before.

"Very good work Rose." Commented McGonagall as she moved past my desk. I smiled politely and nodded my head in thanks but kept quiet. She hesitated in front of Hermione's desk but then moved past without saying anything.

After the lesson, Neville and Hermione fell in either side of me but slightly behind like bodyguards as we headed to the Great Hall. It wasn't until the hall that Hermione spoke.

"Ron's dead and a bit of you hasn't come back."

Neville looked between us as he piled sausages onto his plate.

"I think I changed more over summer." I commented.

"Well yes, you got more private and better in class but you were always you." She explained.

"I'll get better." I told her but I was trying to convince myself as much as her.

"What plants do you think we'll be asked about on OWLs do you think we'll get asked about?" Neville asked in a not at all subtle change of topic. I smiled gratefully as Hermione began to recite every plant she knew was on the syllabus and what the previous years she knew about had been tested on and the likelihood it would be repeated. The conversation then moved to other OWLs and what NEWTs we would want to take next year. We had careers meetings with our head of house coming up so things were going to get serious.

At the end of the meal I made my excuses and left for the suite I shared with Daphne. The Slytherin was waiting in our lounge, no books nor notes were laid out before her suggesting she wanted to talk.

"Welcome back."

"Thank you." I replied, "How was your week?"

"Strange. Dumbledore coming back and Umbridge being removed sent the whole school into shock. I wasn't entirely sure where I stood anymore." Daphne commented.

"Well we get to keep the suite." I told her.

She nodded and had a soft smile grace her face. In an unusual move, I could see her wringing her hands slightly as if nervous. She looked up at me but hesitated, unwilling to speak. Not wanting to push her I ignored it and with a slight smile I walked past and into my bedroom.

Collapsing onto my bed I absently summoned a book to read as I curled into my sheets. I had summoned the closest book rather than a specific one. Reading about the theory on the effect of planetary motions on magical plant life was a good cure for insomnia. Astronomy was definitely a NEWT I was not taking. Herbology would depend on other results and what I wanted to do career wise.

My sleep was not peaceful, all I could see was Voldemort decapitating Ron only for Ron's head to roll to my feet and remind me I didn't do anything to save him. I watched Voldemort do it and I had an opportunity to intervene. This wouldn't hurt quite so much if it was a lie.

I flew in the morning. It always helped me clear my head. I didn't see Daphne, she'd already gone down to breakfast when I returned to drop of my broom and change into my school robes. There was a space between Hermione and Neville at the Gryffindor table clearly left for me as both their eyes found me when I entered the hall. Ginny was sat opposite them. I slotted into place and began to eat.

"Rose, how are you feeling this morning?" Ginny asked.

"I'm fine." I replied automatically, Hermione looked sceptical.

"Good, fine is on the way to better." Neville commented. Once again Hermione looked like she disagreed. She'd known me long enough to know that fine was my default response and was utterly meaningless.

"How are you Ginny?" I asked moving the conversation away from me. It wasn't my brother and father who were killed.

"Most of the time I'm okay but sometimes everything just hits me. Like I'll see a chair in the common room Ron used to sit in and I feel like crying." Ginny responded as she stared at her plate. "I feel so weak." She spat.

"Its fine Ginny. Grief is a well documented process. If you want I can get some books on it for you so you can understand it better." Hermione offered. I almost groaned.

"No thank you. I'll get over it." Ginny ground out.

"Denial is a recognised phase." Hermione replied knowingly.

"So Neville, how are you this morning?" I asked loudly. Neville's wry grin told me he knew exactly what I was trying to do.

"I'm okay. It's strange having a spare bed in the room but it would be wrong to get rid of it. Otherwise, I'm okay."

After that the conversation was constant albeit it did feel forced. Defence was a self-study session due to the lack of a teacher. I suspected someone from the Order would be called in to cover, that or Amelia Bones might lend someone so her niece had a decent teacher before her OWLs. Nepotism was alive and well in the wizarding world and if I could benefit from it then I had no plan to complain.

The study session for Defence was reading books in the library wasn't actually that different to what had passed as a lesson this year. Despite complaining about Umbridge Hermione seemed in her element and I suspected this would go down as one of her favourite lessons. She hadn't mentioned anything about her Defence club since I'd got back so I assumed with Umbridge gone that it was over.

Remembering Dumbledore's request, I caught up with Daphne at lunch and told her that Dumbledore wanted to meet with us about improvements to the school. She was surprised that Dumbledore was bothered but was more than willing. I think she just enjoyed being seen as important. I don't know if witches and wizards had CVs but I'm sure that being an advisor to Albus Dumbledore would look great on one. Nothing had turned bad for her but she was now a friend of several people involved with the fall of Voldemort. Nobody knew exactly what she had or had not done so she was for the most part beyond reprisal. Only a few of her housemates might cause trouble but those that would take out their frustrations on her were people who'd cause trouble anyway.

We met Dumbledore and McGonagall a week later. A week of forced conversation and awkwardness within the Gryffindors. Hermione was trying to support everyone and was taking no care of herself and it was showing. Ginny and the twins were shells of themselves and were just going through the motions but seemed to be on the mend. I'd got them talking about their plans for their shop which had filled them with enthusiasm until they remembered neither Ron nor their father would ever get to see it. The sobered them up quickly but it the fact they were smiling and laughing for a while was progress.

McGonagall escorted us from our suite to the Headmasters' office. The lay out had changed slightly since I was in the office a couple of nights ago for a lesson with Dumbledore. He'd transfigured or conjured a few more chairs which were arrayed in front the Headmaster's desk. McGonagall sat in one with me filling in between her and Daphne, all of us facing the Headmaster but able to see each other.

"Thank you for all coming." Began Dumbledore. "Before we really get into this may I interest any of you in a sherbet lemon? No, oh well, let us begin."

McGonagall looked unimpressed as Dumbledore paused, not actually beginning as he began to unwrap a sherbet lemon for himself. Daphne, having not dealt with the Headmaster personally before kept quiet. I smiled at his eccentricities.

"Yes, now I tend to find the beginning is always a good place to start. Hogwarts as a school has long been a premier school of magic in the world and it deserves to stay there and its students deserve an education fitting of such a school. I am unusual as a headmaster as I hold several roles outside of the school. In my time I have allowed myself to be, shall we say distracted. At time I have put aside my responsibility to the school and its students and focused on the larger picture and in doing so have ignored the details. Miss Greengrass, you are the only one in this room currently unaware but I intend to retire at the end of this year."

Daphne's face was a picture. The shock was clear, she nodded, perhaps too surprised to use speech.

"As such I wish to ensure when Professor McGonagall takes over I hand over the school in the best state possible. To do so I wish to identify my failings and the failings of the school. I have recently been reminded that I am not nearly as clever as I like to think which is why I have asked you and Rose here today."

"Albus, you know full well that you will be remembered as one of the greatest Headmasters Hogwarts has ever had." McGonagall reminded him.

"Minerva my dear, while that may be true will it for my greatness as a headmaster or for my greatness while I was headmaster?" Dumbledore asked.

The transfiguration teacher just scoffed as if Dumbledore was being silly, personally I thought it was an interesting question but not one I could answer. Dumbledore was the only headmaster I had ever known, I had no point of comparison and with Dumbledore's age few around did.

"Now, please, tell me what the failings of our school are." Instructed Dumbledore.

I looked to Daphne and she looked to me, neither of us sure who would begin. We hadn't really prepared. Seeing that she was still nervous I started.

"We can start with teachers, subjects or structure?" I offered.

"Perhaps structure then go subject by subject and that will cover the teachers." Dumbledore suggested. His voice sounded pained as if he hadn't actually believed there was much to talk about.

"Well, from what we learnt while working with Umbridge, the board of Governers don't really do much. There is almost no accountability and people just have to trust the headmaster. You've been luck so far as people just trust you because you're Dumbledore."

"Miss Potter." Came McGonagall's warning voice but she was interrupted by Dumbledore.

"No, no, this is what we need to hear. Go on."

"The is no standards at this school, even cauldron bottoms are regulated but the quality of teaching and equipment at this school isn't." Daphne explain, her voice quiet but clear.

"And the Governers should fill this role?" Checked Dumbledore. From my experience Dumbledore seemed genuinely curious but Daphne seemed to wilt slightly under the attention.

"If you wish for Hogwarts to escape Ministry interference then they are the best choice. That being said however, they might wish to employ someone for the role to ensure the person knows what they are looking for." Daphne replied after a moment of gathering her thoughts.

"Well reasoned. Minerva, thoughts?"

I liked McGonagall, she was a good teacher, fair too but right now I had to wonder if she understood what this was all about. She did not look impressed right now, her lips had long ago been drawn to a thin line. A clear warning sign to someone like me who'd been the cause of much trouble over my years here.

"Nobody knows Hogwarts better than its Headmaster." Declared McGonagall. I almost sighed, she was making this difficult. I would have to head this off before she could build up a full head of steam.

"Professor, if everything is fine then any inspect will find nothing wrong." I interjected.

"When their job is to find fault, they will find fault for the sake of their job." She countered.

"Think of it as something to ensure someone like Umbridge would never succeed as either a teacher or Headmistress." Daphne tried.

McGonagall huffed slightly but said no more. I wasn't sure she agreed but I suspected she believed herself above arguing with teenagers. She could be reasonable but evidenced by my first year she did tend to doubt those younger and less experienced than herself. As flaws went it was one of the better ones to have. The times erring on the side of caution would cause you problems were far less than leaping without looking. McGonagall may be head of Gryffindor but that didn't mean she had to exhibit the worst traits of our house.

"Shall we move on? I shall bring this up next time the board of Governors convene." Dumbledore suggested.

"Right, potions." I started.

"No, hang on we should talk about class allocation." Daphne interrupted me. "Every year in potions Gryffindors and Slytherins are paired together and it causes no end of trouble. Now, there other times that the structure and make up of classes has a negative effect. Astronomy can mean students aren't properly awake for their first lessons the next day so maybe it should have the class in the morning for completing the work without disrupting other subjects."

Dumbledore nodded along while McGonagall's face was set in a disapproving frown but it had been like that for a while.

"Now potions as a subject has received several complaints." I started giving a quick look to Daphne to check she hadn't got any more to say before we moved on.

"Perhaps we might delay any changes for potions until Professor Snape leaves." Dumbledore proposed.

"Snape is leaving?" Daphne asked.

"Ah yes, Professor Snape has decided his future lies outside the castle. In the spirit of openness Severus never truly wanted to teach. Following the end of the last war he had few options and he was to play an important part in defeating Voldemort when he returned. As such I offered him the teaching position. With Voldemort defeated then he has no need to remain." Dumbledore explained.

"Is anyone staying?" Daphne muttered under her breath.

"With Professor McGonagall taking over my role we will also have a new transfiguration teacher." Dumbledore added.

"Maybe then we should work more on a system to help rather than criticise now." Daphne suggested, all her previous nervousness gone as it became clear Dumbledore valued her opinion and encouraged her to speak.

"A good idea. Minerva, as the Headmistress next year what sort of feedback would you appreciate from the students?"

"It should not be public, people will complain because it is what they do. You might find they criticise when they simply dislike the teacher regardless of the quality of teaching." McGonagall replied.

"Should it then be restricted to the prefects?" Dumbledore enquired.

"I believe they are selected as the most mature and reliable of their years. They also give a balanced view from all of the houses."

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. While I understood McGonagall's view I couldn't help but feel if the prefects were the students who would be most concerned about complaining about the staff. They might value their education but they were also visible. If complaints were made the staff had a very select few they could blame for it. It shouldn't happen but if the Professor took it badly they had a target for their pettiness. If it came to a teacher's word against a prefect's I wasn't sure which side McGonagall would come down on.

"I think they should be picked from within their own house. Prefects are often teacher's pets." Daphne put in, voicing my own concerns but with less focus on pettiness and more on the prefects.

Dumbledore was content to suck on his sweet and let McGonagall refute the protest.

"That simply means that they see the importance of their education."

"Malfoy is a prefect. He's not dumb but he's definitely Snape's favourite and Pansy? The less said about her the better." Daphne shot back. I was amused watching Daphne, who had been nervous when she'd entered the room was now fired up and arguing with arguably the strictest teacher in the school.

"The Slytherin prefects are not what we are discussing Miss Greengrass, we are here to talk about ensuring Hogwarts remains its status as a premier school on the world stage." McGonagall reminded her.

"We were talking about if they could be trusted to provide good feedback. Would you trust Malfoy and Parkinson to be fair and unbiased, especially if it was a muggleborn teacher?" Daphne pushed.

McGonagall sighed and looked to Dumbledore in frustration. With a crunch, Dumbledore bit down and finished his sweet having long since sucked out all of the sherbert.

"Minerva I'm afraid that Miss Greengrass may have a point. Alas, we cannot prevent them being selected by their house were it to be an elected position so Miss Greengrass' idea has flaws of its own. Rose, do you have any suggestions?"

I paused, thinking, I thought about what would be the best system, what would be the fairest system and what was open to the least amount of abuse.

"I think just having anonymous feedback is best. Have some filtering charm to stop duplicated parchment so it doesn't get filled with rubbish. Have it go to the standards person from the Governors and they can sort through it to find the valid stuff and separate it from the ones that are just whining. They can bring it up at staff meetings or with the heads of houses or something and then action can be taken. If you make it take effort, then people with legitimate complaints will use it and those who just want to mess around would get bored and do something else."

"Ah, an interesting idea. Comments?" Dumbledore asked the other two. Daphne just shrugged while McGonagall said nothing.

"It might work." Admitted McGonagall.

"We shall work out the details at the next staff meeting." Dumbledore summed up. "Thank you for your time girls. Rose, the Minister wishes to speak to you. Would you be willing to speak with him?"

My instinct was to say no, to leave the spotlight and to try and be normal but I could never be normal. This is what Harry was on about over summer, I've survived but I have yet to win.

"I'll meet with him." I told Dumbledore. It gave me a chance to control the narrative, to put my spin on events. I just had to work out what spin I even wanted.

Dumbledore looked tired all of a sudden, I'm sure he would have tried to warn me, to hold me back and was forcing himself to not get involved, to get used to stepping away.

Shortly after that we left, it hadn't quite been what I had expected but it seemed the focus was more on next year. Even with a system in place we hadn't spoken much about how the feedback would actually be delivered. There was nothing to ensure anyone listened to it.

Dumbledore announced his retirement to the school and later to the press at the end of the week. He made a lot of noise about continuity and having a proper handover. I sat and watched, amused at how shocked everyone seemed, it was as if they'd expected Dumbledore to stay as Headmaster until he died. Fred and George had immediately declared that Dumbledore would be thrown the biggest leaving party they possibly could throw. As they compared ideas from the insane to garish smiles crept onto their faces and I couldn't help by enjoy the moment, as if everything was normal. As if we weren't sitting here in the shadows of the dead, dreading the moment one of us slipped up and dragged the others down with us as we descended back into our misery. For that moment though all eyes were on the future. A Dumbledore free Hogwarts, a world without Voldemort, things were changing and we just had to make sure it was all for the better.

The Minister himself came to Hogwarts to meet me, I wasn't sure if he honouring me or if Dumbledore had decided it must be so. Either way I was sure that most people went to the Minister and he went to very few. We met in an empty classroom, I think it was the same one that held the Weighing of the Wands. He'd brought with him a few aides, among them was Percy Weasley, they were all lingering behind Ogden in the deeply cushioned armchairs Dumbledore had conjured for the meeting. Dumbledore himself was sitting slightly off to the side, making it clear that he wasn't the focus of this meeting but close enough he could add his thoughts while leaving the Minister facing me in the middle of the room.

"Miss Potter, its good to meet you." He even seemed genuine about it which was a change. Fudge had always felt strange, as if he wasn't sure if I was a person or an icon. The way he treated me in my third year compared to fifth was night and day.

"Good morning Minister." I replied, trying to keep my voice even and supress any nerves.

"Good morning to you too. Now I asked for this meeting for a couple of reasons. Firstly I would like you to attend an awards ceremony where we honour you and those that fought with you beneath the Ministry. Secondly, this is a bit more tricky to explain but I would like you to do an interview where you state that the Death Eaters were the problem and that you have no problem with Purebloods or wizarding culture in general. Now before you interrupt I just want you to understand why I'm asking." The Minister paused as he assessed me, trying to get a read so he knew what to say. "A lot of wizards have died in the last century. Many not leaving a family behind. As a result the portion of traditional old purebloods has dropped. Increasingly muggle influence is seeping into our culture. Regardless of if this is a good thing or a bad thing it is change and change scares people. He-Who-Must-Not be named was stopped early and while that is a fantastic thing his supporters were not culled. They must be brought back into the fold, we cannot afford to allow their resentment to grow. If we punish them, if we push them we risk them gathering around a new leader and restarting this conflict."

"I understand. I had an advisor who told me that stopping Voldemort was surviving and unless the issues that caused him were fixed then we wouldn't win." I acknowledged. "I don't like it but I understand."

"You're not the one who has to tell the public we aren't hunting down all possible Death Eaters. They want blood from the last war and I want this all to end." The Minister replied with a wry smile.

I nodded in acceptance and glanced towards Dumbledore who was watching and absently braiding his beard. I knew he approved of bringing the sides together without bloodshed but I couldn't help but wish I knew what he was thinking. Using legilimency to find out was not an option. I took a moment to consider what the Minister had asked. A lot of me was screaming that I was normal, that I didn't want the extra attention but the new cold calculating side that Harry had nurtured was reminding me that people already looked to me. A case could be made that if I did nothing then whatever followed by my lack of action could be considered my fault. I was already in a position to help, the question was what do I consider help to be?

"What is happening with the trials?" I asked.

"We're throwing the book at them. We're going to come down hard on them but with the statement that we consider the matter concluded. There is nothing wrong with their prejudices so long as they do not act on them. We will not police beliefs and ideas, we will act against crimes."

"I'll do it." I confirmed.


	4. Aftermath

Thanks to nxkris for pointing out I originally put up the wrong chapter

"What is the difference between transfiguration and a transformation?" Harry asked, standing at the front of our OWL level transfiguration class as part of his trial period. It was a few days before the Ministry award ceremony and the following interview. McGonagall had invited Harry in to assess his abilities.

Hermione's hand shot up. I hesitated, I suspected I knew the answer but it was probably cheating if I answered seeing as Harry had tutored me before. I glanced around the room and spotted Daphne's hand raised. Harry had spotted it and I saw his expression flicker as he forced a smile back onto his face having been caught by surprise by her presence. He gestured to her to answer and I could hear Hermione whimper in disappointment.

"A perfect transformation is the changing of something into something else. It is a permanent and perfect change meaning that the final object could not be identified in any way from another object. Transfigurations can be reversed." Daphne supplied.

"For the most part that does answer the question but I have a simpler version. In your OWLs there is a theory section, you could try and memorise the whole lot or you could learn it from first principles. This is one of the most basic. Transfiguration is a lie. My favourite, most varied and most interesting lie but still a lie."

Hermione looked outraged but I knew what Harry meant.

"Name the most well known exception to Gamp's Law." Harry instructed. Hermione almost bounced out of her seat as she tried to get Harry's attention. Sighing and shaking his head slightly he allowed her to answer.

"You cannot create food." Hermione answered, it was an unusually succinct answer for Hermione.

"Indeed." Confirmed Harry. "A brick is a brick, you can transfigure it into a loaf of bread but it remains a brick. It behaves like bread, it smells like bread it probably even tastes like bread but it is still a brick. Nutritionally once broken down it is a brick. No matter how good your transfiguration, no matter how well you lie to everyone's senses you haven't changed the essence of it. It doesn't really matter if you believe in Plato's forms but somehow there is a quality to non-transfigured objects that defines them at a level beyond our comprehension. As you have likely discovered or been taught, the more you know about an object the easier it is to transfigure, this concept is not understood and so it cannot be transfigured. Transfiguration does not change what something actually is and therefore it is a lie."

Harry took some time to let that sink in. He turned to the board and with a wave of his wand the first-year laws we learnt about transfiguration appeared along with a commentary about them.

"Copy this down." Harry instructed. "As you write consider what they meant in a practical sense."

I got to work as did the rest of the class. It was different to McGonagall who expected us to simply know and understand the classical definitions but Harry had tried to make them as simple as possible and his commentary explained them in language fit for use in this century. The only noise in the room was the scratching of quills. Harry was using the time to lay out a few materials, likely to be transfigured. As the scratching stopped Harry stood at the front of the class again.

"Alright, now let's apply those principles. Take what I have said about transfiguration being a lie and see if that helps you take those most basic laws and from them derive the more complicated ones. As a practical exercise I have given you some material. Using chain transfigurations and the law regarding the similarity of objects your aim to end up with a pheasant. A complicated transfiguration, make it simpler by chaining together a set of transfigurations. Link together a set of simpler transfigurations. You are allowed to do this on your OWL but it caps you at an Exceeds Expectations. If you don't feel comfortable pushing for the Outstanding this is a viable alternative."

A gnarled root was placed in front of me. Hermione had a pebble. I looked around, Malfoy was glaring at a child's doll and Daphne had a miniature chair. I stared at the root trying to plan a path to a pheasant. I was confident I could do it in two steps. First wooden root into wooden statue of a pheasant then transfigure that into a living pheasant. Hermione wasn't even trying, instead she had her hand in the air similar to when Umbridge had first started teaching.

"Yes?" Harry asked, his voice revealing his frustration at dealing with Hermione.

"I believe I can do this in one step." Hermione informed him.

"You likely can. I suspect several in this class can. I certainly could at your age but is that what I have asked you to do?" Harry replied, clearly unimpressed.

"No but," Hermione started but Harry interrupted.

"Could you make it easier by doing it in stages?"

"Yes but," Hermione tried again.

"And is that not what I have asked the class to do?" Harry checked.

"It is." Conceded Hermione.

"Then you are not incapable of completing the task set." Harry concluded.

"Yes but I'm more advanced than this." Hermione pushed.

"And if I gave you a sheet of copper and asked for an elephant?" Harry asked.

"Well no, but that's beyond NEWT level." Hermione protested.

"But could you do it in stages, even now?" asked Harry.

"Probably." Hermione stated defending herself.

"Then you are missing the point of this exercise. I am not testing the limits of your skills. I am reminding you all of some basic transfiguration principles. Some of this class may not continue this subject to NEWT level but this concept, taught in second year allows them to complete transfigurations above their level. It is a fundamental skill that is often overlooked due to the speed offered in single stage transfiguration. Your competency isn't in question; however you are holding up the class by refusing to complete a simple exercise."

Hermione quietened down after that and I saw Malfoy looking like his smug self again. Something that had been lacking since the death of his father. Despite the less than ideal situation that lead to it, a lack of Malfoy smugness wasn't a bad thing.

Soon after that exchange the class room was full of pheasants. Some still had flaws but it was clear to most that the exercise had been a success. After the spat with Hermione Harry had wandered the class offering tips and corrections. I'd competed the task quickly and had nothing to do until Harry had untransfigured the work of anyone who'd completed the task and asked them to try again but removing one step. For me that meant I was doing it in one. The feathers had a slight grain pattern to them but it was good enough.

I'd wanted to linger and speak to Harry after the class but McGonagall was speaking to him as the class left the room and Hermione looked like she was fuming. I got dragged along by her so she could rant to me about how Harry was holding the class up to cater to inept idiots.

Harry taught a few more classes across several years over the next few days. Mostly to positive reception. A few thought he was too young. A few thought he was insulting with how he kept pushing everyone back to the basics. I wasn't sure that it mattered as it was up to McGonagall if he got the job.

The Ministry atrium had been repurposed for the award ceremony. The security gates had been removed and the whole space had been opened up. A podium had been erected in front of the lift and there were security in the form of aurors and hitwizards spread around the edges. I was escorted to the Minister by a pair of aurors, one of which was a little star struck to meet me. It was strange following behind him. If I hadn't stopped Voldemort, then this young auror might well be dead. He wouldn't have the experience to survive. If he was star-struck by me then what mess would have Bellatrix LeStrange made of him?

The Minister's table where I would be seated as a guest of honour was nearest the podium. Amongst the other people sitting on the table were Dumbledore and the Chief Editor of the Daily Prophet. The Senior Undersectary was hosting another table a short distance away for 'valued members of the community,' which I took to be the biggest donners and I was expected to shake hands with them all later. The Minister himself had provided every table with a free bottle of his family's firewhisky to help everyone get in the spirit of things.

The first speech of the night came from the Minister himself. It was long winded and prattled on about the virtues of hard work and solidarity in trying times. How his ministry would cast aside the flaws of the previous system and how it would come down hard on crime but promote innovation and the advancement of magic. It all sounded all well and good but he was a politician so I'd have to judge him by his actions not his words.

In a more sober, almost glum tone, the Minister invited Dumbledore up to give a speech about the events that led us here tonight. About the fall of Voldemort. Dumbledore rose, with a gracefulness that belied his age and with his long strides he glided to the stage. While the Minister may have been sober Dumbledore didn't even try to hide his sadness. The elderly wizard's grief was clear to all as he took his place behind the lectern on the small podium.

"I have been asked to speak about the fall of Voldemort." Dumbledore paused as numerous people made noises of protest at the use of the name. "I have always believed that the best place to begin a story is at the beginning. We shall therefore begin with a young boy. A boy called Tom Marvolo Riddle. I first met Tom when I delivered his Hogwarts letter. Even at that age Tom had an unusual grasp of his magic and what could perhaps be described as disturbing tendencies. Tom was born to a witch from an old and noble line which had fallen upon hard times although it was mostly through their own fault. His father was a handsome muggle who had been ensnared through a love potion. For some reason that I have failed to learn Tom's mother ceased her bewitchment and Tom's father left her, pregnant and alone. She died shortly after giving birth and named the boy after his father. Tom grew up in a muggle orphanage where he discovered his magic and used it to his advantage. From what I have learnt it was a tough and loveless childhood where he learnt that what he wanted he had to take from others through various means." Dumbledore paused. I was confused, I had expected to talk about the nobility of the fallen not a sob story about Voldemort.

"Hey." A voice next to me greeted.

"Hey." I replied happily as Harry slipped into the seat next to me. "How'd you get here?" I asked "And what happened to," I leant forwards and read the nameplate in front of Harry which he tapped his name against and transfigured it to match his name. "That guy." I finished.

"Well really the aurors should be better and resisting a confundus and the other man who was meant to have this seat has completely forgotten the date and will likely feel awful about it tomorrow." Harry explained. "I sat through one of these in my own time. Daphne was the only thing that stopped me leaving so I thought you'd want some company."

I was about to ask about Fleur or thank him for coming, probably both but Dumbledore had started to speak again.

"When he arrived at Hogwarts Tom quickly became a favourite of the teachers. He was, and I do not use this lightly but Tom was a prodigy. From his childhood, he had learnt to lie and to hide, he was charming and unfailingly polite to all that he wanted something from and ruthless to those that opposed him. In his fifth-year Tom opened the Chamber of Secrets and that led to the death of Myrtle Warren. Though even at the time I had suspected him it was only recently that I received true proof that it was he who was responsible. I believe that was the first death he was responsible for. I do not know when he began his decent into true darkness but by the time he was sixteen he had begun to search for methods of immortality, no matter the cost. That search defined Tom as he transformed into Lord Voldemort. His fear of death lead him to become something less than human."

I glanced round and the audience seemed fixated on Dumbledore's tale. I wasn't sure how much of this they had ever heard before.

"Power, it is a hard to define term but it is something almost all of us seek. Tom became obsessed with it and allowed himself to be consumed by his quest." Dumbledore continued. "Power became Tom's way to measure worth. Not goodness nor anything we use but power. Magic gave him power, muggles have no magic therefore for Tom they had no power and therefore no worth. His muggle father abandoned him, his mother perished soon after. Tom saw this as his muggle father corrupting the power of his mother. She became weak, she succumbed to death. Muggles ruined magic, they made it weak. It is perhaps no surprise then that Tom sought to purge all muggle influence from magic. His power was undeniable and his war against those he deemed weak took the country to its knees for a decade. One night a miracle happened, Voldemort attacked the Potters. Personally, and alone. The reason, there had been a prophecy made about one with the power to stop the Dark Lord. What happened then we all know. The Potters died but their young daughter survived. Voldemort struck down but remember, he feared death and had taken unnatural measures to prevent it. He fled, weakened but not dead that night. Over a decade later he returned. The prophecy we knew meant that Rose Potter must defeat the Dark Lord, only she had the power. Alas it was a terrible burden to put on one's shoulders, especially one so young."

I could feel the room's eyes on me as Dumbledore spoke. Journalists were likely recording every word. Harry next to me was rigid, clearly uncomfortable but his presence was something I could draw strength from.

"Rose learnt about the prophecy before I wanted her to. If I had had my way, then she would have been ignorant and lived in bliss. She grew up with her muggle aunt to keep her separated from her fame and to have a normal childhood. Learning of the prophecy she acted, she helped undo the unnaturalness that preserved Voldemort. She rendered him mortal before planning to draw him out and confront him. Several friends of ours gathered together to buy her the time to do what must be done. All of them heroes. All of them the latest in a long line of those who have opposed the darkness. Each death a tragedy, remember them all remember their story. The Minister has asked me to talk about the fall of Voldemort and I want you to all remember that it was a tragedy. Death is not something to be feared nor is it something to be sought. Some will celebrate the death of a Dark Lord. I will morn for those that died. I will morn for what Tom Riddle, the misguided prodigy, could have become, I will morn for the loss of innocence for a young girl who should never have had to kill another person." Dumbledore's blue eyes, always so alert and filled with merriment were now cold as he gazed out into the audience. "We are here to celebrate living because others did not. Do not forget the cost others have paid for you to be here."

With that Dumbledore left the stage. There was a stunned silence before Harry clapped first leading others to join in. It wasn't joyous like the applause when someone other than Slytherin won the house cup but it was respectful. Dumbledore steadily made his way to the table while the applause continued.

As Dumbledore reached the table a huge explosion rocked the atrium. The floos all turned green as people in dark Death Eater regalia flooded into the atrium.

"Our Lord may have fallen by out cause lives on!" One of them dramatically declared. They couldn't not be the bad guys if they tried. Since when have skulls on outfits ever meant good things?

"Rose, I will do my best to protect the innocent. Keep yourself safe." Dumbledore commanded as he drew his wand.

Looking out across the room I saw that the audience was panicking as the Death Eaters first volley of spells impacted on the hastily erected shields of the aurors. The crowd wasn't helping them as the Death Eaters were between them and the floo meaning they were rushing around and causing trouble for their defenders. I could see Dumbledore making his way through the crowd. His presence and bright robes making him a clear rallying point as the Death Eaters shot Killing Curses at the crowd. The aurors could do nothing but return curses and hope that people got out of the way but the sea of people meant that was unlikely.

"Cover your ears!" Harry shouted over the noise from beside me. Doing as he said I watched as he raised his wand high and it let out an awful screeching noise that rang in my ears. It was painful to listen to and it seemed others thought so too as people staggered momentarily. Harry had grimaced but kept it going. I took the seconds Harry had bought to access the situation a bit more. The crowd couldn't leave, the only ways out of the atrium this evening were the floo and the elevators and you couldn't fit many people into those at a time. Long story short there was no way out, the Death Eaters had to be stopped. A large contingent of the aurors were protecting the Minister and were at the opposite end of the atrium to Death Eaters. With the tables and the guests, they couldn't get involved and they were protecting the Minister as they headed to the elevators to secure him somewhere safe. Dumbledore had animated some of the tables to act as shields but with all the people around he couldn't get a clear shot of the Death Eaters and had to focus on protecting people.

"We have to help." I told Harry as he ended his spell as people began to shake off its effects and start casting again. He nodded in response as he looked around, he whipped his wand up and started casting a familiar spell at everyone nearby.

"What are you doing to them?" I asked as the crowd started to thin at let us get towards the fight.

"Confunding them so they think the podium will hide them."

It wasn't true but if they believed it and hid then they created more space for us to fight in. I quickly began to cast the same spell. I wasn't as practiced with the spell but everyone I hit with it looked dazed for a few moments before hurrying back towards the back and away from the fight.

It didn't take long for us to arrive at the front. A few aurors had fallen and I could see a few bodies on the ground wearing expensive dress robes. On the other side most of the Death Eaters were still standing. They hadn't been hampered by the panicking crowd or unclear rules of engagement. Beside me Harry opened up with a huge jet of high pressure water blasting an unprepared Death Eater off his feet. Two flicks of Harry's wand first solidified the water into a cage of ice trapping the Death Eater before it rippled and became stone. I didn't hesitate slinging a simple disarming charm at another Death Eater but he slapped it aside contemptuously but not quickly enough to stop the banisher that slammed into his side from a nearby hitwizard. I glanced around looking for where I could help the most. To my right Dumbledore was single handily holding back four Death Eaters as he wove together his spells each one being the perfect balance of offense and defence. His transfiguration and animation meant that everything near him was of use as he weaved in stunning spells and the odd hex to pick of the weaker Death Eaters.

There couldn't have been more than twenty or thirty Death Eaters at the start and as Harry sent a curse at the back of one of the Death Eaters fighting Dumbledore that number dropped to around ten. Good news but the number of aurors had fallen even lower. The ones closest to the floos had been overwhelmed quickly and a lot of the auror contingent had been protecting the minister. Some hitwizards remained but they weren't as much use indoors since they weren't free to blast away.

I ducked under a curse but it blasted the hitwizard behind me off his feet. I couldn't do anything to help him but I shot a stunner back towards the Death Eater whilst mentally thanking Wood for his paranoia and crazy training that had given me ridiculous special awareness. If only that hitwizard had been paying attention too.

With a thud the stunner impacted on a shield and I realised the other fights had moved off to the side as a jet of fire forced everyone to scatter leaving me alone. With an underarm flick I flung a circular table at the Death Eater, mid-air I transfigured it into a weighted net. I was able to recognise the curse the Death Eater had sent at me and counter it before it hit me. The Death Eater hadn't been able to stop the net and was trying to wriggle out of it and did nothing to stop my stunner knocking him out. Probably a relative of Crabbe or Goyle. I sent a disarming charm and a rope binding spell at the downed figure to secure him and ensure he was out of the fight. Looking around I saw the edge of the flash from Dumbledore's area of effect stunner as the fight ended. It was carnage. With the broken tables and burn marks on the wall the Atrium looked worse than when Voldemort fell. A tired looking Dumbledore made his way over with Harry trailing behind.

"Alas a tragedy has occurred tonight. My only hope is that what we saw here tonight were the final remnants of Voldemort's forces and now we may begin our era of peace."

I looked to Dumbledore without comment. I wasn't overly tired physically but I suddenly felt so weary. I had allowed myself to think it was all over. That others could rebuild and I could live. Tonight had been a humbling reminder that there were still some out there that wished only harm on others.

"It's not over yet." Harry replied grimly. "There will be more. Some with families that will feel betrayed by the Ministry, resentment will fester on both sides and it will all flare up again."

"Education will be the key. Teach them that they can work together, teach them about the other so they can understand, so they can accept them for what they are?"

"And if they reject your teachings?" Harry pushed.

"You have an alternative?" Dumbledore enquired.

"Listen to them. Envy and jealousy help define humanity. No matter the outcome someone will feel wronged and want more. Greed motivates us, it allows us to reach for more, to advance. They need an outlet to vent. Give them an easily recognised battlefield so they keep their messes away from the rest of us." Harry replied.

"Accept them for what they are and seek to separate them?" Dumbledore checked.

"You can't change them when they don't want to change. Unless you can make people behave, and I don't want to live in a world without the freedom to disagree, then conflict will always arise. You can't manage human nature, you can manage the nature of their conflicts."

I was too tired get involved in a philosophical discussion about the nature of humanity, I did however just want to go to bed.

"Can we go home?" I asked. I sounded whiny and tired but they listened and stopped their discussion.

"I shall check with the Minister but it is likely this event shall be suspended, in which case it will be more than acceptable to return to Hogwarts. Harry, if you wish Hogwarts would prepare a room for you." Dumbledore offered.

"No thank you. I have a wonderful witch to return to." Harry replied. "This evening has been far more eventful than I expected and I'll have some explaining to do." He sighed.

"I do not envy your position." Returned Dumbledore with a smile.

"Say hi to Fleur for me." I added as Harry moved towards the floos scowling at the Death Eaters on the floor.

"To the Minister then?" Dumbledore enquired gesturing towards the lifts. I nodded and together we made her way through the carnage and past the confused crowd who were trying to work out why they had thought the small podium would protect them.

The Minister was in his office with several aurors posted outside. It didn't take long for Dumbledore to talk his way past them and get us into the office. A bottle of firewhisky was open on the Minister's desk and the man himself looked far from amused.

"Ah Dumbledore, Potter, what a disaster. An attack on the Ministry when we're meant to be celebrating the end of any attacks." The Minister grumbled.

"Indeed." Confirmed Dumbledore. "I take it we are free to leave?"

"Yes, you're the lucky ones. Me and this lot are staying, I've received reports that several of the bastards were taken alive. Bones is on her way in and we're going to be interrogating them all night long."

"Good night and good luck Minister."

"Good night." I added.

"Go, get some rest. We'll speak again soon." Replied the Minister tiredly. With that we left. We passed straight by the carnage and travelled by floo to Hogwarts. The castle was quiet when we returned, Dumbledore said nothing as he collapsed into the throne like chair behind his desk. I lingered in the doorway wondering if I should say anything but the need to curl up and sleep was strong. To escape from what just happened and rest in blissful sleep. In the morning the rest of the school would learn what had happened and I didn't to face them if I didn't sleep. Even having witnessed people died tonight I was feeling fatigued enough I knew I would find sleep quickly. I gave a nod and a forced smile and slipped out of Dumbledore's office and headed to my room.

The news broke at breakfast with the arrival of the owls bringing the morning post. The Daily Prophet was finished late enough at night that news had reached them. They'd even managed to get comments from Madam Bones confirming that they were indeed Death Eaters who'd launched that attack. They'd also managed to get together a casualty count and it wasn't good reading. Four aurors and five hitwizards were dead with several more hospitalised. Fourteen witches and wizards who had been guests had also died. Some of them showed no signs of being cursed and had been trampled in the panic. The Minister had commended the bravery of the aurors and Hitwizards with special thanks to myself, Dumbledore and a man matching Harry's description that they lacked a name for.

I could feel the hall's eyes on me as I stared at the newspaper in front of me that I had long since finished reading but I was avoiding acknowledging anyone else.

"What happened?" Hermione asked by my side blowing that plan out of the water.

"Bad things." I replied, still staring at the paper. I knew I wasn't being a good friend but I didn't want to talk about it and I wasn't being subtle about that. Either Hermione was deliberately ignoring that or she was completely inept at social interactions.

"Yes, but what happened, I though Voldemort was gone."

"Yes, but the world is full of idiots and sometimes they emerge from the woodwork and remind us that they exist." I replied. She almost certainly knew what had happened and why, having read the paper but was asking in desperation to find an explanation to something she didn't want to accept. It would be easier if everything had a meaning, a purpose. The Death Eaters hadn't tried to escape, it had basically been a suicide mission but I doubt they thought that far ahead, they had attacked the Ministry on the night that was meant to be reminding us of their downfall. They had sent their message, they were not gone.

"I just don't understand." Hermione admitted in a quiet voice. To some extent I was with her on that.

"Can you ever understand stupidity or ignorance?" I asked half-heartedly. She paused to think about that and I used the opportunity to grab my bag and slip out of the hall and head towards class. I knew people would stare and others would talk but it would pass, hopefully.

My first class was History of Magic, the class went normally which meant that most people dozed through it. I had been dreading some people using the opportunity to talk to me but it seemed sleep was a more attractive option.

At lunch a nervous Hufflepuff first year approached me with a note from Dumbledore asking me to stop by his office. Having potions after lunch I was fine skipping class for it. The Minister was in Dumbledore's office when I arrived as was a bookish looking man with a quill out. He was introduced as a writer from the Daily Prophet who had been selected to interview me. I guiltily used a touch of legilimency to slip into the journalist's thoughts. Thankfully he was planning on being honest in his article. He was a little bit too excited to meet the Girl-Who-Lived but it shouldn't interfere with his ability to do his job.

"Are we ready to begin?" Asked Mr Smudgely, the journalist.

Dumbledore looked to me then nodded at the reporter.

"Alright, lets begin. Miss Potter, could you tell us about your reactions to learning about the now widely known prophecy concerning you and You-Know-Who?"

I took a moment to think before I replied knowing I could be quoted on every word.

"Well my initial reactions were rather negative." I admitted. "I think I always knew it would come down to him and I but to hear it confirmed was disturbing. For over fifteen years he's been trying to kill me and for most people that might not seem like much but for me it's a lifetime. He's was extremely talented and I knew it. When I first got my wand Ollivander commented that he was 'great, terrible but great.' I think that might have been one of the best summaries I've heard. Knowing that it was me who had to stop him was scary for sure but I had good people around me."

It was the best answer I could give without adding too much in the way of opinions. I didn't want to say anything too controversial.

"Thank you, now tell me a bit about your plans when you learnt of the Prophecy."

"Well I'd already tried to learn a bit more before the year started. The Prophecy said it was up to me to stop him but I already knew he wanted me dead and obviously I didn't want that to happen and so I'd started to prepare before that." I replied.

"Okay then, please tell us about your plans for stopping He who must not be named."

"The first step was to be honest. I had to accept the reality of the situation. Voldemort was a talented wizard and a powerful one, his supporters were often well funded and talented wizards. The Minister at the time was holding back the DMLE who I'm sure otherwise would have done their jobs. I was almost alone and I was inexperienced." I explained.

"That sounds hard, with such a bleak outlook how did you move forwards?" Smudgley asked.

"I had a friend sit down and tell me that to survive I had to stop Voldemort. He also told me that there are thousands of way to kill a man and all I had to do is find one that works. Voldemort was talented and powerful, he wasn't all knowing. He was prideful and predictably arrogant meaning he could be exploited. Voldemort was a cruel twisted man but still a man and a man could be killed."

Smudgley scratched away with his quill writing down every word.

"Did you ever doubt you could do it?" He asked.

"I did doubt, there were lots of times I doubted it. I was fifteen and he was a full blown Dark Lord who held his own against Dumbledore. I think if I hadn't doubted ever then I wouldn't be giving Voldemort the respect he earnt." I told him.

"What are you thoughts on Voldemort's cause?" Smudgely asked. I saw the Minister fidget slightly in his seat and I knew what he wanted me to say.

"I don't know really." I confessed. "Whether or not he raised a real issue that effected the wizarding world I think his methods devalued anything he had to say. I don't have an issue with anyone's blood. I tend to judge them on their actions. Voldemort's supporters were evil and wicked. That doesn't meant they were idiots but it does mean that now people will shun blood purists. I think now more than ever we need to unite to move forwards, to raise any issues we have in a constructive way."

I could see the Minister sigh with relief as Smudgely wrote down my words. I felt it was a good neutral answer that called for discussion.

"How would you respond to those that are upset with how lenient you seem towards blood-purists?"

"I think they're being short sighted. I don't like blood purity. That doesn't mean that I don't think that they might bring something to our society. We are the wizarding world, we have our own separate history and I think we should respect that. If we punish the reasonable people who hold those views for the actions of some psychopaths, then we risk alienating them and restarting the fighting down the line."

Smudgely nodded as he scribbled as if he agreed, or he might be thinking he had some good material, I didn't feel the need to peek into his mind to be sure.

"Do you have any words for those that look to you for advice?"

I sighed slightly. I didn't want people to look for me for advice but this was a chance to do some good.

"Things have been hard but Voldemort never returned properly we haven't lost the progress made in the last decade so everyone should calm down. The Death Eaters are on trial and the DMLE needs our support. They are good people doing a hard job. I think we need to be a bit more accepting, wands are a right and a privilege but we might be a bit too free to point them at those we disagree with."

"Wise words. Headmaster, Minister do you have anything to add?" Smudgely asked. Ogden looked to Dumbledore before speaking.

"I think Miss Potter has done a grand job. The most important thing she has done is fought against a man who told us what to think. We need to realise that she has granted us the power to hold our own ideals. As minister, I have a duty to you all and it is my job to make this country the best it can be. I need to know what means to you all."

"Headmaster?" Smudgely prompted.

"I think that Rose has said several wise things. As I have previously announced I will be stepping back from the public eye at the end of the year. I beseech you all to not load her with expectation. She is a young girl with a bright future. Let her grow." Dumbledore commented.

"Thank you all, I'll be off to get this all written up then." And with nods to the room Smudgely took the floo away leaving the three of us in the office.

The Minister sighed as the man left and sank back into his chair. I wondered if he'd managed to get any sleep. It must have been hard for him. He held ultimate responsibility over the wizarding nation of Great Britain. All deaths, all arrests and judgements reflect on him. It was a burden and a responsibility, Fudge saw it as a path to power and a privilege.

"Thank you, Miss Potter." The Minister sighed.

"Not a problem." I told him. It was true. I didn't like the press, not after my experiences with Skeeter but the chance to miss potions with Snape not to mention avoid the stares of my class mates for a few hours was too good to pass up. The article would cause new stares but I'd agreed to it a while ago. "Has Madam Bones learnt anything?" I asked.

The Minister stared at me, seizing me up. I returned the stare, mentally focusing on something to the exclusion of all else, my occlumency meaning I was scarily good at staring contests. He broke first.

"They were mostly the dregs and true extremists. We got a few names of other Death Eaters that had told them that it was over and they needed to move on. We're going to bring them in and interview them but depending on their crimes its likely fines over prison. If they truly have moved on or at least are prepared to then we have to bring them back into the field. These idiots will probably be the last of the true Death Eaters we'll have to deal with but they might have some inspired some fools."

I nodded as I processed that.

"So, its over?" I checked, my tone hopeful.

"We can only hope that the fighting is over. Rebuilding and stopping it happening again is going to be ongoing for years if not forever." The Minister replied.

"Well I wish you the best of luck with that, perhaps it might be best for you to get some rest." Dumbledore offered.

"Too true. I've been up for far too long and I'm too old to stay doped up on potions." The Minister replied rising out of his seat. "Alright, I'm off. I don't know when we'll be in touch again so stay safe and all that."

After he had disappeared into the floo Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose as Fawkes trilled encouragement.

"Do you believe Mr Potter would be willing to cover the Defence position till the end of the year? Madam Bones is willing to offer the position to any of the aurors injured last night who may wish to resign from active duty but they won't start till next year." Asked Dumbledore.

"I don't know, have you asked him?" I replied.

"Ah, perhaps that might be best. It is an interesting relationship I share with Mr Potter, I do believe we could be friends and at times he so easily slips into that but at times he seems so cautious. I am myself and an aspect of myself is responsible for the loss of everything he valued. I therefore prefer not to bother him." Dumbledore explained.

"I'd ask him. I don't know what he does with himself these days and he seems happy enough to teach transfiguration. I know he'd good at Defence but he doesn't love it in the same way he loves transfiguration." I told him. Harry preparing the class for OWLs would be interesting given his contempt for examinations and theory in general. He definitely knew his stuff but his approach often lent on his talent and brilliance.

"Fawkes would you be willing to invite Mr Potter to my office?" He asked the majestic bird which gave a trill in response but I could feel the acceptance of a positive responds in the phoenix's song. "Well I believe that is everything for today Rose. Remember we have a lesson planned for Thursday evening."

I took the dismissal for what it was and with a goodbye I left him. I returned to my room unwilling to go to the last few minutes of potions. Daphne being a Slytherin was in potions where I was meant to be so I had the suite to myself for a bit. Sitting on our sofa I just wanted to curl up and have a nap but I had Care of Magical Creatures later and I couldn't skip Hagrid's class. I had slept well last night but it was as much passing out as sleeping. Tonight would be harder, tonight I would have the energy to dream and I'd be surprised if my mind didn't wander to the carnage from the attack on the Atrium.

Having taken Runes and Arithmancy not Care Daphne came back to the room as I was leaving. I had almost dozed off and so was running late and didn't have time to chat. I made it just in time for Hagrid's class.

Smudgely's article came out the next day at breakfast. I was slightly annoyed at the stares but at least this way they all came at once. In a few days it would all be cleared up and they'd have something new to gossip about. The paper also contained the outcomes of the initial round of trials, the ones for the Death Eaters who fought under the Ministry. They had all been found guilty and their punishments were interesting. Every single one had their personal vault seized but any family funds left alone with surviving family being warned that their money was not safe if they were found funding other terrorist groups. Several of them had been given life in Azkaban but none of them were to be executed regardless of their crimes. Having spent even a small amount of time in the company of Dementors I personally felt that was worse.

Harry acquiesced to Dumbledore's request to cover the Defence position but with some conditions. Namely that Harry was free to come into Hogwarts to teach but he was then free to leave whenever he wasn't. Half an hour after that I had access to his office's floo and was free to come and go as I wished. McGonagall hadn't been overly happy with this. She saw it as a violation of tradition but deemed it an acceptable arrangement provided that Harry would live at the castle full time if he became a member of the senior staff. I regularly visited the Retreat in the evenings and Fleur was invaluable preparing for my OWLs. Daphne came with me a few times as she and Fleur got on well.

All stares started to settle down as time passed. By the time the exams started the fifth and seventh years were so deep into their studies that they didn't have time for gossip and nobody really listened to the younger years that much. Hermione and I were never as close after Ron's death. I wanted to move on and she wanted to know more. The Weasleys as a family stayed close with me but without one my age we did drift a bit. The twins shop and my investment in it however meant that we were at least in some way tied together. Harry's move to the transfiguration teaching position was well received and the auror who lost an arm in the Atrium Attack was a popular defence teacher. The witch that taught potions was strict but she wasn't Snape and that won the vast majority of the school over instantly.

There were times when I dreaded sleep, times I would get forced to remember the feeling of killing someone. Times I was forced to re-watch one of my best friends get beheaded in my sleep and there were times I dreamt of the Atrium but all in all I had to say things were on the way up. I was the girl-who-lived. I was now the girl-who-survived. If I died happy then I could safely say I was the girl-who-won.


End file.
